Class "DS <\l 

Book__jQ.«H- 
Gop>Tightls 10 _ 



The Destiny of Doris 



BOOKS BY MR. CHAMBERS 



On a Margin: a novel of wall Street, 
(iith Edition.) 

a mad world and its people. (reprint 
of London Edition.) 

Lovers Four and Maidens Five. (25th 
Thousand.) 

In Sargasso: a Romance of the Mid- 
Atlantic. 

The Rascal Club; or the Boys of 
Giraffe. (2d Edition.) 

The Destiny of Doris. (ioth Thou- 
sand.) 

Benjamin North, of North Valley; a 
Study in Heredity, (in Press.) 



^ 



FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY 
DAVIS & SANFORD 





1 he Destiny or Dons 




A Travel -Story of Three Continents 




By 

JULIUS CHAMBERS 
Illustrated 








1901 

CONTINENTAL PUBLISHING CO. 
24 Murray Street, New York 








The library of 

60NGRESS, 
Two Copies Received 

NOV, 16 1901 

COTVRIOHT ENTRY 

CLASS CU XXc no. 

copy a 



Copyright, 1901, by 
Continental Publishing Co. 



THE PEQUOD PRESS 
NEW YORK 



Contents 

Chapter Page 

I. Reversing a Rule 9 

II. Flying the Blue Hawk 21 

III. The "Gib" and the "Med." 29 

IV. A Reawakened People 37 

V. The Arab at His Best 44 

VI. The Arab in His Wane 63 

VII. True t,o Prophecy 78 

VIII. A False Oracle 93 

IX. Disappointments of a Mummy no 

X. Master of His Fate 125 

XL On the Sacred Isle 148 

XII. In a Temple Bazaar 159 

XIII. Under the Southern Cross 174 

XIV. Under the Holy Cross 193 

XV. La Bella Napoli 215 

XVI. Ambition Dead and Buried 231 

XVII. Our Debt to Paganism 244 

XVIII. A City of Palaces 261 

XIX. The World of Chance 274 

XX. Home of the Lombard Kings 291 

XXI. The Winged Lion 303 

XXII. Older than Rome 313 

XXIII. A Quatrain of Destiny 324 



PONTA DELGADA, THE PRETTY CAPITAL OF ST. MICHAEL 



Chapter One 

Reversing a Rule 

ST. MICHAEL, prettiest of the Azores group, 
lay half a mile away; and though but a dot 
of green amid the ocean blue, this volcanic 
isle made glad my heart as if it had been a 
continent, harboring a hundred cities. 

I was leaving sullen January skies at New York, for 
the sun-lands of the Mediterranean. The voyage had 
begun auspiciously : for I had found on board ship a 
friend long lost to me. Our surprise was mutual. We 
had parted in anger ; but time had weakened my resent- 
ment, and widowhood had lessened her indifference. 
The formalities of reviving a dead friendship had been 
soon overcome, and Mrs. Wentworth and I had passed 
many hours together on deck. 

We had known each other since the early seventies : 
our parents had been neighbors on Murray Hill, our 
fathers fast friends. A common danger in trade had 

9 



10 



The Destiny of Doris 



cemented a brotherhood between them like that of Athos 
and Porthos. Their Sunday mornings had been passed 
together; while our mothers attended church, they 
smoked each other's cigars, and drank each other's whis- 
key. Alas ! they went to the same heaven, I hope ; for 
two truer men of their time and generation never lived. 

Louise Post had been the only girl among my acquaint- 
ances who had preferred to take a husband from the 
foreign nobility rather than to marry a fellow-country- 
man ; and her decision had fallen heavily upon me. Af- 
ter twenty years in England, as the wife of Lord John 
Wentworth, youngest son of the Duke of Gaster, she 
had returned to her native land — four years prior to this 
unexpected meeting — a widow, with a daughter of six- 
teen. 

Louise's father left several millions; mine a member- 
ship in the Stock Exchange. As his only heir, I bid 
in the seat, secured an election, took a capitalist for part- 
ner, and, in a few years, grew rich. All my thoughts 
had been devoted to money-making. I had had no time 
or inclination to attempt a second wooing. 

That Mrs. "Jack" Wentworth, as she was generally 
known (contrary to conventionality), was still beautiful 
did not admit of dispute ; and never were her charms 
more emphasized than when the tall, young girl, Doris, 
stood beside her. Mature beauty did not suffer by com- 
parison with that of youth. 

Only this morning had Mrs. Wentworth become con- 
fidential, as we sat on deck. 

"There is no mystery in the Wentworth family," she 
began. "After I married Jack and went to England, 



HORTA. ON THE ISLAND OF FAYAL, WHICH 
IS IN CLOSE COMMERCIAL TOUCH WITH NEW 
YORK, BY CABLE AND STEAMER 



12 



The Destiny of Doris 



I liked the title of 'Lady John,' I was flattered by the 
social prestige of his family name, — little realizing how 
small a factor I was in its future. I never could be- 
come reconciled to the law of primogeniture ! Jack's 
blue blood was his chief earthly possession. The fam- 
ily was very noble, but deplorably poor. We — rather 
I — bought an old country-seat, much gone to decay, upon 
which I spent most of my heritage. Overling Hall was 
ancient as the Norman domination, and, possessing the 
prettiest site in Kent, we transformed it into one of the 
most attractive country homes in England, — not preten- 
tious, you understand, but vast, roomy, and comfortable. 
Dear Jack had considerable taste, and he spent our money 
to advantage ; but during those twenty years my personal 
income maintained the family home." 

Her words recalled facts far from comforting to me, 
but I listened in silence. 

"One morning poor Jack was killed on the hunting 
field," continued the beautiful woman at my side, "and 
I found myself alone in this world, with Doris. When 
I sav 'alone; the word never was better used. After 
the funeral I was made to feel that I wasn't of the slight- 
est consequence to the Wentworth family. I saved the 
Hall only because it was mine !" 

How different this woman from the girl who had made 
me so wretchedly unhappy ! But she was more com- 
panionable than in the past. Our positions in life were 
reversed — while she had been dissipating her fortune I 
had earned one. 

"Doris was as keenly conscious of our changed posi- 
tion as I," continued Mrs. Wentworth, "though she gave 



Reversing a Rule 13 

no verbal sign. I knew that in her life and mine a 
crisis of the gravest character had been reached ; but I 
deliberated long and seriously." 

"She who hesitates — " I began, merely to find my 
voice. 

" — is generally saved," my companion interjected. 
"I haven't any sympathy with the phrase-maker who'd 




First Sight of Land in the Azores, Showing Feleira 



sacrifice a fact for the sake of an epigram. But, seri- 
ously, I saw that Doris' position was more unfortunate 
than mine. I had bought twenty years of self-adulation, 
which, after all, is worth a price ! In so doing, I had 
impoverished my child. By her father's death, she was 



14 



The Destiny of Doris 



crowded out of the place that would have been hers 
and mine; and I had squandered the money that alone 
could have rehabilitated her social position. Without 
wealth, England had no future for her! Only too 
well did I know the high esteem in which impoverished 
noblemen held American heiresses ! Among my ac- 
quaintances were many splendid English girls of good 
blood and superior education, wholly overlooked by 
the sons of noble families in their search for American 
money." 

"And you decided to transplant your family tree?" 

"Exactly ! I vowed to reverse the existing order of 
things and to find for this English girl an American 
husband ! The old Hall was let to an expatriated Rus- 
sian prince, seeking a respite from the surveillance of the 
secret police. I disposed of my personal property and 
dropped the complimentary title of 'Lady.' We returned 
to the home of my girlhood, where I didn't require let- 
ters of introduction, but only had to renew the acquain- 
tances of my family to secure prompt social recogni- 
tion. My position in Xew York was infinitely more 
satisfactory than clinging to the skirts of an effete aris- 
tocracy in London and relying upon the fast-waning 
memory of a dead husband for my status. The disci- 
pline of experience falls more heavily on woman than 
man," — Airs. Wentworth was saying, when the Azores 
had suddenly appeared out of the haze. 

She didn't have to tell me the rest of this tale of a 
pretty woman's disillusionment. And, though we had 
not met up to this time. I knew Airs. Wentworth had 
taken a small but comfortable house in the ultra-fash- 



MRS. WENTWORTH, DORIS, AND MR. NORTH, 
ON DECK, PLANNING THEIR TRIP THROUGH 
THE MEDITERRANEAN 



i6 



The Destiny of Doris 



ionable section of New York, just of! Fifth 
Avenue. At the expiration of her year of 
mourning, — carefully utilized in adding to her 
daughter's education, — Mrs. Wentworth gave a few 
small dinners to which old and new friends were asked. 
The second winter, she and Mrs. Piney-Woods occupied 
a box at the opera on alternate nights. Doris went only 
once, during her Christmas vacation. The following 
summer the girl had her first look at Newport, Bar 
Harbor, and Lenox ; but her bow to society occurred that 
winter at a dinner-dance given by Mrs. Piney-Woods 
to her own daughter. There Doris met and took mental 
account of her young associates, — girls, I fancy, for she 
hadn't begun seriously to study men. 

A girl is never too young to form opinions of her own 
sex, nor to express them! 

The year that followed, Doris gave to her books. 
Many good schools for girls exist in the United States; 
but the one she attended has no rival in what it accom- 
plishes for the physical and mental development of wom- 
en. Her mother had studied in a different school. She 
had married Lord John with the hope of "blazing out" a 
political path for her husband. In those days she be- 
lieved that under the magic of her inspiration he could 
attain any height — even the Prime Minister's bench — ; 
and she abandoned her hopes only when she found that 
Lord John had no head for politics, or for anything be- 
yond a horse and a good dinner. From that hour the 
ambition of the American wife grudgingly yielded to the 
lamentable indifference and mental sluggishness of her 
husband. Knowing the woman well, I understood her 
disenchantment. 



AZOREAN WOMEN DRAWING WATER FROM 
WELL IN PUBLIC SQUARE : THE WALLS ARE 
MADE OF LAVA-CONCRETE 



i8 



The Destiny of Doris 



"Has your daughter begun her social career?" I ven- 
tured to ask, when the silence lengthened. 

"During last winter I quietly recalled Doris from 
school, that she might attend her first public ball, — the 
Patriarchs'. I venture nothing in declaring that her 
rugged beauty and charming manners scored a triumph. 
Next day she was the most talked-of girl in New 
York. A rivalry developed between several of my 
friends who hadn't daughters to exploit, to entertain the 
Anglo-American debutante. I accepted as her patroness 
the most dashing young matron in the metropolis — one 
whose beauty was so generally conceded that she'd 
never contemplate jealousy of Doris. Best of all, this 
choice gave no offence to the elder matrons." 

What a study she was ! Perhaps I was looking into 
her heart : but I wasn't sure. A clever woman at forty 
is always a delight. \\ 'hat this one had described to me 
as "the discipline of experience" makes her tactful as 
the wiliest diplomatist. Instinctively, she is distrusted by 
a man of the world. 

What I hadn't divined, Louise Wentworth had vol- 
untarily told me. In vain I tried to solve the mystery 
of her sudden departure for Europe. As we rose and 
walked to the side of the ship, I looked into her face, 
and asked, 

"What takes you abroad?" Then I hesitated between 
apology and the further impudence of pressing the ques- 
tion. 

"The Czar!" exclaimed Mrs. Wentworth, with a show 
of mystery, accompanied by a laugh that dispelled all 
fear of having given offence. "His Imperial Majesty 



Reversing a Rule 



19 



pardoned Prince Wanoff ski ; the latter gave up his lease 
of Myerling Hall, and the income from that source sud- 
denly vanished. It is more economical to travel than 
to remain in New York and keep open house, and this 
is a cheerful life in which we are awakened by music 
and called to meals by bugle." 




Landing Place at Ponta Delgada 



"Miss Wentworth was glad to return abroad, I sup- 
pose?" 

"Yes ; and, again, no," was the reply. "There was a 
man in the case, you see. Doris didn't tell me that, in 
so many words ; but I have eyes. When there's a man, 
be wary ! And yet, the way to know if a man cares for 
a girl is to take her away from him. If he be in ear- 
nest, we shall hear from him. Don't you think so?" 



20 



The Destiny of Doris 



Whatever I may have intended to say was lost for 
want of opportunity to express it. 

Never had Louise Wentworth looked so charming- as 
when standing with me by the davits of the cutter, 
wholly given up to the new excitement roused by the 
"Flying Islanders" of to-day. 



AZOREAN WOMEN ON THE STREET IN THEIR CAPOTES 



Chapter Two 

Flying the Blue Hawk 

DORIS WE NT WORTH, glass in hand, was 
surveying the beautiful landscape before her. 
She was a picture of the best type of mod- 
ern woman. Snug as a sailor lad, in a 
dark-blue yachting suit, the outdoor life she had led 
was reflected in every feature of her ruddy face. Her 
lips were full and ripe, her eyes lustrous brown, and a 
wealth of golden hair crowned her head. She was as 
pretty as I had thought her mother at her age. While 
I watched her, she was using the binoculars like a navi- 
gating officer, and, when I stepped to her side, she said 
with the vivacity of girlhood, 

''Surf is breaking on a pretty, white beach, at the 
base of a cliff — the only bit of sand in sight. Nearby 
are the huts of fisher-folk, their bright green boats drawn 
far out the water." 

A picture of entrancing beauty lay before us ! The 

21 



22 



The Destiny of Doris 



precipitous shore resembled the Palisades of our be- 
loved Hudson. On a high plateau, amid an exuberant 
wealth of Nature's green, lying between the cliff's edge 
and the bases of towering mountains behind, were 
houses of pink and white. 

Resplendent verdure everywhere effaced all memory 
of leafless trees we had left at home. Windmills swung 
their arms as if in welcome. So close came we to shore 
that the Azoreans were seen moving about the village 
streets, watching the strangers from across the sea. 

Feleira, a wee hamlet, clung like a pink and white 
acaleph to the verge of the precipice. What uncon- 
scious use of color ! The greens, browns, and blues were 
supplied by Nature; the Azoreans affected only the 
brighter shades in dress and household decorations. 
Every garden was a flower-bed. 

Doris had traveled much, but this part of the globe 
was new. What she saw only heightened anticipations 
of Spain, Morocco, Italy, Egypt, and Palestine. 

Ponta Delgada nestled in a cove under the shadow of 
mountains a mile high. 

"I suppose the arrival of a ship is a sensational event 
in the Azores," suggested Doris to Philip Norton, a 
fellow-passenger who had lived among the Islanders. 

"The Azoreans are like children who never tire of 
watching the sea," was his reply. "They will drop their 
work or leave their churches to see a passing ship. 
Merchants close their shops, grocers cease weighing 
sugar or counting eggs, and the routine of barter and 
sale stops. Sometimes a bell is rung at the town-hall. 
But I found life in this city quite enjoyable. The 



BOTANICAL GARDEN AT ST. MICHAEL, WHERE 
THE AZOREANS FIND SHELTER DURING THE 
HEAT OF THE AFTERNOON 



24 



The Destiny of Doris 



Azoreans are not pirates, but they capture many a stray 
ship on its way to the Sargasso Sea. This is the near- 
est port to that mysterious region." 

"A sea in the mid- Atlantic !" exclaimed Doris. 

"Just as there is 'a river in the ocean,' " rejoined Mr. 
Norton. "I came out here to gather salvage from that 
fairy-kral where all lost or forgotten ships are 'rounded 
up.' We hunted derelicts like game ; for, by the law of 
the sea, abandoned craft or cargo belongs to the finder !" 

"Where is this harbor of missing ships?" asked Mrs. 
Wentworth, turning incredulously to me. 

It was a happy moment, because this was a subject on 
which I was quite informed. For many years this un- 
explored expanse of calms, large in area as the State 
of Texas, had been my study. I had organized and 
financed the syndicate that had sent Mr. Norton on his 
highly profitable voyage. 

"The Sargasso Sea is the mid-Atlantic swirl, south 
of the Azores," I replied with confidence. "It is formed 
by the Gulf Stream moving eastward along its northern 
border and the African equatorial current surging west- 
ward along its southern edge. What did you find, Mr. 
Norton?" 

"Plenty of salvage," said he. "We returned laden 
with ships' chronometers, silver-ware, and other valu- 
ables. The winter's work realized a net profit of more 
than one hundred thousand dollars." 

"What a weirdly interesting place!" commented Doris. 

"So it proved to be: in every grassy lane was a ro- 
mance, in every reedy cove a tragedy, and in every float- 
ing hulk a secret of the sea." 



THE OCEAN PALACE, UPON 
WHICH OLD FRIENDSHIPS 
ARE RENEWED 



26 



The Destiny of Doris 



"How many abandoned ships did you find?" was the 
next question. 

"Less than two hundred ; but the Chief of the Bureau 
of Navigation at Washington declares in his last report 
that the number of derelicts in the Sargasso Sea exceeds 
one thousand ! The Azoreans have a superstitious dread 
of the region. Their sailing vessels are small and they 
fear to venture far southward, lest they get inside the 
circle of calm, from which there is no escape except 
under steam." 

"Have the Azoreans any form of government?" 

"Theirs is an autonomy, acknowledging .the sover- 
eignty of the King of Portugal," replied Mr. Norton ; 
"but they have their own flag, — a blue hawk on a white 
field." 

"Yes, the ensign is floating at the landing-stage, but 
through the glass the bird looks like one of Mother 
Cary's chickens," remarked Doris, still scanning the sea- 
port. "I must have one of those flags." Then she 
added : — "Why ! I can read the time o'day on the clock- 
tower ashore — exactly twenty minutes after one !" 

"Were you very lonely?" asked Mrs. Wentworth, ad- 
dressing "the man who'd been there." 

"On the contrary," was his reply. "There are good 
cafes, a jolly theatre, and an opera house. St. Michael 
doesn't seem out of the world since a cable has been laid 
from Lisbon." 

"What makes life most interesting in the Azores?" 

"Money!" was the prompt rejoinder. "It is a 
source of constant merriment — being scarce and much 
debased. An American eagle equals 13,480 reis; but a 



Flying the Blue Hawk 27 



native family will live a month on ten thousand reis ! 
I could take a thousand dollars in American gold to 
Horta or Ponta Delgada, and, by judiciously lending it, 
live on the income." 

"That's a fine rock off Villa Franca!" exclaimed Doris, 




An Azorean Donkey-driver at Ponta Delgada 

who, after a long survey through the glass, had con- 
sulted a chart on -deck. 

"It is memorable — a fragment of the overhanging 
mountains, torn away by a sudden convulsion of nature," 
explained our authority. "Though in deep water, its 
precipitous sides rise a hundred feet above high tide." 

I recalled several rocks of similar character in the 



28 



The Destiny of Doris 



Mediterranean — at Cape Spartivento, Sardinia ; at Strom- 
boli, near the Strait of Messina, and a lonely islet off the 
southern coast of Crete, with its lighthouse 1,100 feet 
above water. 

"If I lived at Villa Franca I'd suffer constant fear 
that the rock might slide into its old place and blot out 
the city forever," mused Doris. 

"Your anxiety would not be unfounded in this part 
of the globe, where islands rise out the sea and disappear 
before their shores are cool enough to bear the feet of 
man." 

The vine-clad terraces of St. Michael unrolled like 
a panorama during that afternoon. A wagon-road clung 
to the mountain-side, half a mile high, and, at one place, 
a stone bridge of a single arch carried it across a yawn- 
ing chasm. Milage succeeded village, and mountain 
followed mountain, until a rocky cliff a thousand feet 
high marked the land's end. 

We sat watching that headland until it sank into the 
water, much as the Azores fishermen describe the disap- 
pearance of the mysterious volcanic isle near Santa 
Maria, once charted, but not to be found to-day at sixty 
fathoms' depth. 

The Azores went to rest in their ocean-bed at early 
candle-light. 



WATER BATTERY AT GIBRALTAR, UNDER "THE LION'S PAW' 



Chapter Three 

The « Gib" and the "Med" 

THE landing facilities at Gibraltar are excellent. 
A snug steam-launch came alongside the 
Trave after breakfast, and we went ashore 
with no more trouble than one has in cross- 
ing the North River on a ferry-boat. . 

Our tickets for Naples were stamped for a week's 
"stop over" at The Rock. 

We were under the protection of the English flag. 
Gibraltar, town and fortress, can be seen in the three 
to five hours' shore-leave that the steamers give their 
through passengers, but we had planned to utilize the 
week in visiting Andalusia and the City of Tan- 
gier. The village-carts are pretty, comfortable, well 
horsed, and cheap. Hotels are numerous, and one is ex- 
cellent. Shops are few and confined to one long street. 

"Here one gets the first sight of the Moor," says every 
book I have read on Gibraltar. As we shall hunt him 

29 



3o 



The Destiny of Doris 



to his lair at Tangier, and study him in his days of great- 
ness at Granada and Cairo, we need not dwell upon him 
here. 

The Moor is a psychological paradox, — cleanly of 
heart, but filthy of mind ; a marvel of piety, and a para- 
gon of greed. Partnership in trade is unknown to him, 
because he lacks faith in his fellow-man. He has turned 
his sword into a steelyards that weighs light ! People 
who know him, never trust him; those who trust him, 
soon know him too well. These truths apply to the in- 
dividual Moor, whether you meet him in Gibraltar, at 
Fez, Constantine, Tunis, Cairo, Mecca, Jerusalem, Da- 
mascus, Smyrna, or Constantinople. Once the master 
of the Mediterranean, afloat and ashore, he is a vaga- 
bond to-day, having nothing left of his vast possessions 
but a patch of sand under the frowning heights of Gibel 
Muza, at the Gate of Hercules. 

Mrs. Wentworth ensconced herself at a hotel on the 
main street, while her daughter and I drove about the 
city. At the steamship office we found a cablegram ad- 
dressed to Mrs. Wentworth ; but after a moment's hesi- 
tation, Doris opened the envelope and I knew from her 
face that its contents pleased her. She frankly told me 
that Mr. Vernon Blake had sailed for Gibraltar and 
would arrive in a week! 

What a high priestess of prophecy was Mrs. Went- 
worth ! She had said, "He will come !" and "he" was 
now on the way. 

I knew Blake, and his suit deserved to have Mrs. 
Went worth's sanction. He was a young man of wealth 
and untarnished name — two facts that do not always go 




THE GREAT ROCK FROM THE SEA; SAID TO 
RESEMBLE A CROUCHING LION, GUARDIAN 
OF BRITISH SUPREMACY 



32 



The Destiny of Doris 



together. Member of a dozen clubs, his reputation was 
not that of a roysterer; heir to a fortune, he devoted 
nine months of every year to active work. 

A subsequent conversation, introduced here, will make 
the situation clearer. 

"Two men were at the wharf to say 'good-bye' to 
Doris," explained Mrs. Wentworth. "Mr. Blake con- 
trived to get a few words alone with her, and confessed 
he wanted to make a similar trip, but hesitated lest she 
might not care to see him abroad. This was Doris' 
answer : 'Indeed, Mr. Blake, I couldn't prevent you 
from going anywhere you like. Please don't consider 
me.' Wasn't she clever? From her words, he couldn't 
guess whether or not she wanted him to come, Her 
tact couldn't have been better." 

She's her mother's daughter, was my thought. 

Doris and I reached the entrance of the fortress, where 
we left the carriage. A very young Scotch Highlander 
was assigned to conduct us through the fort. 

"He must miss his mother, poor boy," commented 
Doris. 

The Rock was punctured with cannon, much as is a 
Westphalian ham with cloves. The end of each gal- 
lery was a bower of shrubbery ; but behind the oleanders 
and rhododendrons were muzzles of Whitworth and 
Armstrong guns, hidden like scorpions in a colored rug. 

We walked several miles on the sunlighted terraces or 
amid the shadows of rocky galleries, and finally entered 
a dark casemate, the only tenant of which was a breach- 
loading cannon, swathed in an oiled-cloth wrapper. 
Here was one of a series of "secret" chambers that over- 



OFFICIAL QUARTER OF GIBRALTAR, SHOW- 
ING BARRACKS AND HILL-TOP, WHERE 100- 
TON GUNS ARE MOUNTED 



34 



The Destiny of Doris 



look the Neutral Ground, across which an attack by foot- 
soldiers must come. 

Returning to town, I paid a visit to the Governor, who 
kindly granted permission for our party to ascend by 
a wire trolley to the signal station. The view from the 
pinnacle of the Rock was unqualifiedly grand! 

The Gate of Hercules stood very wide ajar! Sea- 
ward, lay the battle-bay of Trafalgar, where Nelson won 
the monument round which modern London revolves. 
Across the Strait was the prison-pen of Ceuta, over which 
will always hover the wraiths of Cuban prisoners who 
died therein for the cause of liberty. Westward were 
the waters of Gibraltar Bay; and on its farther shore, 
Algeciras, with its dainty English hotel and its large 
bull-ring. To the north was the stretch of sand that 
makes a peninsula of The Rock — "No Man's Land," 
while England owns these frowning battlements. Be- 
yond "the dead line," the wretched town of Linea — as 
full of smugglers as is a trust company's office of 
widows. 

To the northeast rose the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, 
wearing the white fez of eternal snow, and hiding from 
our sight the dream-town of Granada, with its Arabian 
palace. At their feet, on the shore, was Malaga, the 
seaport of grape-land. 

Stretching eastward, as far as Phoenicia, spread the 
dimpled blue Sea of All Antiquity, every square mile 
of its waters having a place in the chronology of man — 
keeper of more secrets than all the oceans ! 

"The Mediterranean is the greatest spectacle at Gib- 
raltar!" said I. 



The "Gib" and the "Med" 35 



"And the dizzy height on which we stand, is the point 
from which to take a survey of the midwater that di- 
vided the ancient world," retorted Doris. 

A military estimate of Gibraltar's value should be 
made with entire regard for truth, rather than sentiment. 
Encouraged to frankness by a recent reading of Lord 




View of the Rock of Gibraltar, from the Eastward 



Milner's "England in Egypt," I admit, as a spectacle, 
that the Rock is sublimely wonderful, but deny that it is 
a menace to anybody. Impregnable as any fortress in 
these days of dynamite shells it may be ; but who would 
want to capture it ? Spain ? Ah ! yes ; she has a senti- 
mental longing to repossess Gibraltar, just as she has to 



36 



The Destiny of Doris 



regain her countless lost possessions. Nobody else in 
Europe would take it as a gift. 

Gibraltar is a show place — where is enacted a constant 
kriegspiel — where the band plays on the Alameda every 
afternoon and where antiquated guns are fired at dawn 
and dusk to mark the coming and parting day. The 
brandy-and-soda is good, and the distribution of the 
King's coin for breakwaters, dry docks, and bull pups 
is enormous. 

Geb-el-Tarik is the greatest "bluff" in all creation ! 



FIRST SIGHT OF THE CAMEL, ON THE SANDY SHORE AT ALGECIRAS 



Chapter Four 

A Reawakened People 

SPAIN is Living Spain once more! Thrown 
upon her own resources as never before, she 
is a nation with a purpose. The loss of her 
colonial possessions has aroused her peo- 
ple. Spain stood still two hundred years, while 
the rest of the world marched past. But now she has 
caught the step of the new century. Achievement is 
supplanting deterrent pride. Adversity has taught her 
people the necessity of individual effort. They no 
longer stand against the walls and cry. They have 
faced about. 

Granada, the wonder-spot of Spain, has been brought 
to the door of New York by direct steamship- and rail- 
way-communication. Gibraltar, not Irun, has become the 
New World's gateway to the Iberian peninsula ! 

"There is a new hotel across the bay at Algeciras," 
said Mrs. Wentworth, the moment Doris and I reap- 

37 



38 



The Destiny of Doris 



peared, "and I suggest that we go over there this after- 
noon, so that we shall not have to make so early a start." 

"If we stay in Gibraltar, we must rise before daylight," 
I admitted. "The idea is excellent. Let us go, by all 
means." 

Leaving our heavy baggage, we crossed the bay about 
4 o'clock and were driven to one of the prettiest hotels 
we saw on the Mediterranean. It was like a summer 
resort on the New England coast. 

We then drove to the bull-ring. It has seating capac- 
ity for 10,000 people. The custodian of the place showed 
the arena with evident pride, and finally sold us some 
barbs as souvenirs. 

Railway management is alike in all parts of Spain. 
Trains always start at sun-rise, and they trifle away all 
the day reaching a destination. The same conditions 
used to exist in Cuba. Although this new road from 
Algeciras to Bobadilla is owned by English capitalists, 
the law requires that only Spanish engineers and stokers 
shall be employed. The line climbs the mountains 
through a succession of Andalusian landscapes. 

Ronda was in sight an hour before its station was 
reached. In that ancient city, the newest feature is a 
fifteenth-century arch across a gaping ravine in the heart 
of the town. Although Ronda has an elevation of half a 
mile, it is in a valley, amid towering mountain-heights. 
Here is the true home of the olive tree in Spain. 

Bobadilla boasts a modern restaurant, at which we 
were well served. After luncheon, the eastern ride to 
ward "the heavenly plain of Granada" began. The rails 
follow the highway over which Columbus went to the 



A Reawakened People 39 



capital of Ferdinand and Isabella, and its condition is still 
sufficient to delight the eye of an enthusiastic bicyclist. 

Antiquera, site of a long siege, clings to a stony crag, 
a mile from the railway. In the days of the conquest, 
it was a walled town. There the Christian hosts pre- 
pared for their advance upon the Moorish stronghold at 




Across the Bay is Algeciras, where A Bull-fight occurs Every Sunday 

Granada. The ruins of a cathedral and a few remnants 
of its walls are all that remain of the ancient town. 

Doris watched for the Lover's Rock, and we kept it 
in sight for several hourb. In shape, it recalls the Maid- 
en's Rock in Lake Pepin, on the Upper Mississippi. 

When the Genii Valley was entered, the Bridge of 



4Q 



The Destiny of Doris 



Penas, where Columbus was overtaken by the messenger 
of Isabella, became the first object of interest. Disap- 
pointed and morose, the Italian was leaving the Spanish 
court, bound to England for a final argument with Henry 
VII. 

"The momentous misfortune of that meeting — por- 
trayed in oil on the Senate stairway of our Capitol at 
Washington — is beyond dispute," I commented. 

"I'm sorry Columbus didn't get away," was Doris' 
rejoinder. 

"England's -king had already lost one opportunity to 
find the New World, just as nearly three hundred years 
later a successor of his threw away the best part of the 
continent that Columbus had discovered," I suggested. 

"True enough," admitted Doris, "but had Columbus 
reached London and convinced England's chuckle- 
headed king, the American continents would have begun 
their careers under English auspices instead of Spanish, 
and their peoples would be a hundred years ahead of 
where they are to-day. South America would be pros- 
perous and progressive, as is the northern half of the 
hemisphere, and all 'the New World would be different." 

The single arch of that bridge isn't much to see ; but 
it is a pivotal spot of modern history ! Compared with 
it, the bridge at Lodi, and that one on which Motley 
leaves his German hero, dwindles into insignificance. 

"The Alhambra!" exclaimed Doris, as the train swung 
round a curve. 

I had taken the precaution to seat her on the right- 
hand side of the car, that she might get the first glimpse 
of the fortress. She had guessed aright ! Hovering in 



THE VIEW THAT ATTRACTED DORIS' 
ATTENTION FROM THE CAR-WINDOW 
— THE VERMILION TOWER 



42 



The Destiny of Doris 



mid-air, between the sparkling skyline and the dark green 
verdure of the plain, were the brown towers of the Al- 
hambra ! 

This view once seen is never forgotten. There is none 
like it on earth. Its harmony of color is unchangeable, 
because the olive and cypress are ever-faithfully green 
and the snowy whiteness of the mountain-tops is eternal. 

"The Spanish colors are floating over a large tower 
on the hill-side,'' said Doris, standing at the car-window, 
studying the scene. 

"Yes, that is the Vermillion Tower, used as a garrison 
for a small body of troops," I explained. "You will re- 
member the place as the prison of the three beautiful 
princesses, beloved by the three Christian knights." 

"To-day adds another to my collection of flags — the 
United States, German, Azorean, English, and Spanish," 
said Doris, a few minutes later. "Quite a pretty and 
patriotic fad, don't you think so?" 

"The flags of all the countries you visit will serve as 
an interesting souvenir of your trip." 

"I was here on my wedding tour," Mrs. Wentworth 
declared ; "but we have come to see the Alhambra, and 
must go to the hotel on the heights, in the garden of the 
fortress." 

Thither we drove, along avenues of towering elms and 
cypresses, up that haunted hill to the best hotel in Spain, 
sheltered amid embowering jasmines, oleanders, and 
lemon trees. 



ALONG THIS AVENUE WE DROVE TO THE 
HOTEL, AMID EMBOWERING JASMINES, 
OLEANDERS, AND LEMON-TREES 



THE ALHAM BRA-HILL AND THE CATHEDRAL IN GRANADA 



Chapter Five 



The Arab at His Best 



W 



'HEN the Arab felt himself secure in Spain, 
he folded his tent in the valley and began 
building castles in the air. He thought 
the dominion of the sword would en- 



dure forever; and his belief was well founded. Toledo 
was a Gibraltar in its day ; Ronda was a mountain Que- 
bec. 

The Alhambra rose as a fortified place, inside which 
was a fairy palace. The mosques at Cordova and Se- 
ville, being places of worship, were builded on the plain, 
and the Arab encamped round about, guarding them, 
just as for centuries he had watched the Holy Sepulchre 
in Palestine; for had not Saladin preserved the City of 
the Christians against the hand of Richard I. ! 

Washington Irving, who made the Alhambra the show- 
place of Europe, wrote history in his day, just as Mark 
Twain writes it in ours. He never failed to account for a 



44 



The Arab at His Best 



45 



fact. Civen a ruin or a battle-field, he'd fit the history 
into one or marshal the warriors round the other. He 
was the kind of historian I like. He ennobled a trifling 
war into a great episode of history. 

Many years ago, I spent some time at the Alhambra, 
and passed whole days on top the Watch Tower, from 




The Gate of Justice, and the Tablet of Charles V. 

which nearly every battle-field can be seen, reading "The 
Conquest of Granada." It is the Arab version of that 
war, and, in a future reincarnation, Mahomet may in- 
corporate much of that book in the Koran, excising chap- 
ters of the Arabic bible that do not rise to the level of 
Johnny's composition about "The Cow." Aloft on that 
same tower, a bell is rung at night to tell the people of 



4 6 



The Destiny of Doris 



Granada that the Moors have not come back to claim their 
own. 

Events less probable than- the reconquest of Spain by 
the Moors, have occurred. Could the forces of Islam 
unite, the blood-red standard might again float over the 
Alhambra, and prophecy be fulfilled. The Moors of 
Granada hear in every blast that stirs the never-despair- 
ing cypresses, a wail — "Yerga!" ("We'll come back!") 

The Alhambra crowns a spur of the Sierra Nevada, 
which leaves the sterile foot-hills and plunges into a lux- 
uriantly verdant plain. Embracing this rocky crag — 
much as the Ottoman crescent clutches its star — is the 
city of Granada, half-Moorish, half-Iberian. A strong 
wall originally surmounted the crest of this mountain, 
serving as a primary defence for the stronger citadel, 
which held the palace as a jewel in its case; but many of 
the twenty towers and most of the walls are gone. The 
Vermillion bastion, far apart from the main work, is the 
most imposing evidence of former strength and grand- 
uer. The inner fortress, or alcazar, which we have 
come to see, crowns the northeast side of a ravine that 
cleaves the hill in twain. It had its own system of walls, 
towers, and bastions. Several gates originally pierced 
its sides, of which that called Justice alone remains. 
During the eighteenth century vandal-hands cut a car- 
riage roadway through the sandstone battlemented- 
walls. 

The Arab boldly built his citadels without or- 
namentation, but when he undertook to rear a 
mosque or palace, he became a toymaker in archi- 
tecture. Ruin though it was, when first studied, 



HEIGHTS BEHIND THE ALHAMBRA, WITH SIERRA 
NEVADAS, SHOWING RELATIVE POSITION OF THE 
SUMMER PALACE, THE GENERALIFE 



48 The Destiny of Doris 



the Alhambra is the acknowledged inspiration of 
a distinct school of architectural art. With all 
outdoors to draw from, the Arab builder needed little 
space for the sensuous luxury of his habitation. He con- 
secrated its interior to the indulgences of the flesh, but 
dedicated the exterior to the glory of Allah. Heartless 
in war, the Arab thought himself tender in love. 

It is quite possible to gain a general idea of the Al- 
hambra in a single visit. Subsequently, each court and 
garden may be studied in detail. Nobody knows what 
kind of an entrance the palace originally had, because it 
was destroyed by the vandalism of Charles V., to make 
room for his monstrous bull-ring house. That it was 
small and unimposing, may be assumed from the stealth 
of the Arab nature. 

Through a portal narrow as the vision of an odalisk, 
Mrs. Wentworth, Doris, and I left Gothic Spain behind 
and passed into a dreamland of Saracenic art. The series 
of visions that followed may be poorly set to words : 

The Court of Myrtles, with its transparent tank, 
served as a corridor to the Hall of the Ambassadors, to- 
ward which we advanced slowly and in awed wonder- 
ment, as many others had done before. Upon the lintel 
of its doorway, in graceful Arabic script, were the words : 
"I take refuge in the God of Dawn." A few steps, and 
we stood upon the blue-tiled center-piece of the Audience 
Chamber. Everywhere the silence of death ! But those 
walls had resounded to the echoes of violent human 
speech. Here was uttered the defiance of Muley-Hassan, 
which proved to be the first incident of M oorish downfall. 
On this spot, at a later day, Boabdil agreed to surrender 



The Arab at His Best 



49 



Granada, amid the taunts and jeers of his counselors. 
Columbus stood upon these same pale-blue tiles while 
making his final, earnest plea to Isabella and Ferdinand, 
— enthroned before 
him, — c raving the 
privilege of making 
their names immortal ! 

Standing in the em- 
brasure of the central 
window, we gazed out 
and downward at the 
noisy Darro ; then in 
and upward at the stal- 
actite-ceiling, curious 
as the roof of a 
mosque. 

Leaving the Audi- 
ence Hall, we retrav- 
ersed the myrtle-em- 
bowered pathway, and 
a door that once held a 
silken curtain ushered 
us into the Court of 
Lions, a true parallelo- 
gram of two squares, 

containing the finest handiwork of the race of Hagar. 
Never was beauty better idealized. All the cupolas of 
its stalactite-canopied galleries differ in ornamentation; 
and yet the symmetry of the whole is perfect. So iden- 
tified with romance was this court, that the sleepy mon- 




A Gipsey Prince, who was Fortuny's 
Model. 



5° 



The Destiny of Doris 



grel lion-cubs, huddling tail to tail under the marble 
bowl in its center, did not evoke a smile. 

Ascending two steps, our feet trod the spot where the 
gaiiant Abencerrages lost their heads — one by one, as 
they passed beyond heavy draperies, which stifled their 
death-gurgles. 

"It was a pretty place in which to die — one of the 
choicest in the castle," I commented, as we passed to the 
Hall of Justice. 

"This was a very small court room," said Mrs, Went- 
worth. 

"Justice was dangerous to seek, and was dispensed 
with a promptitude that chilled the enthusiasm of liti- 
gants," I explained. 

In the Court of the Captive was found the absolutely 
idyllic. It was the entrance to the harem, and it still 
breathed of love and tragedy. Its crenelated windows 
gave upon a dainty garden, green and yellow with 
bearing lemon trees. Here was wantonness spiritualized, 
— made divine. The interior of this small apartment is 
like a white orchid. Here stood the great vase of the 
Alhambra, now removed. It held a hundred gallons of 
ottar of roses ! 

The passage leading to the apartments occupied by 
Washington Irving is known as the Nest of Lindaraxa. 
Its skylights are the finest in the palace. Here is always 
twilight, tempered by the glow of stained-glass rays, 
showered upon a black-and-white mosaic floor. 

I sat down upon a window ledge; and the memory of 
those minutes of silent meditation will go with me to 
another world. 



COURT OF THE CAPTIVE ; ITS CRENE- 
LATED WINDOWS LOOK UPON THE 
GARDEN OF LINDARAXA 



52 



The Destiny of Doris 



Looking toward its fountain, which has ceased to play, 
or studying the greens and yellows of its thriving trees, 
was an ecstatic dream of sensuous life, — all ours for the 
time, because not a disturbing sound was heard. 

"Some people write books to show how learned they 
are," said Doris, as we left the palace in the same stealthy 
manner we had entered it. 

"If you want to assume a wisdom you don't possess, 
give a few hours to Doctor Contreras' monograph on 
'The Arabic Monuments of Granada, Seville, and Cor- 
dova,' or 'Conde's History of the Arabs in Spain,' and 
you can mouthe with the learned gravity of an archaeol- 
ogist," I replied, leading the way to the Watch Tower 
to inspect the Bell of the Bridal Wish. 

When Granada's fortress was occupied by the Chris- 
tian troops of Ferdinand, a fear existed that the Moor 
would suddenly reappear. Signal-stations were built 
on every mountain-top between the Great Sea and the 
Genile Valley, so that the landing of the Infidel would be 
promptly announced. An alarm-bell was raised on the 
foremost outpost of the fortress, and was tolled during 
the darkness, to reassure the trembling Spaniards in the 
city below. No doubt it would have been violently rung 
had unfavorable news arrived ; but silence the Christian 
conquerors could not endure. A custom thus begun 
continued for three hundred years. In the last cen- 
tury, the uselessness of tolling the bell after nightfall be- 
came manifest to the custodian of the tower, and, fearing 
she'd lose her job, she ascribed to the bell a miraculous 
power for providing husbands to maidens who rang it 
with their knuckles. The idea developed into a domestic 



TOWER OF THE SULTANA; BALCONY ON 
RIGHT BELONGED TO SUITE OCCUPIED 
BY WASHINGTON IRVING 



54 



The Destiny of Doris 



superstition. Every girl in Andalusia believed the bell in- 
fallible, and the custodian was kept busy conducting 
credulous young women to the tower-top. 

As a notice of continued possession, the bell lapsed 
into desuetude; but as a match-maker, its fame and 
popularity increased prodigiously. 

The oracle hangs nine feet above the tiled roof. A 
ladder is necessary to reach it, and ladders cost money 
in Spain — as elsewhere. Hence an income of 5,000 
pesetas per year to the custodian of the Vela Tower! 
What had been the poorest post of duty in the castle be- 
came the most remunerative. 

When we reached the roof of the tower, I noticed 
glances of recognition exchanged between Doris and 
the woman who guided us up the stairs. — Doris had in- 
voked the oracle before her mother was awake! 

When Mrs. Wentworth learned the fact, she was 
speechless with surprise. Her daughter took up a small 
ladder, left on the roof since her earlier visit, placed it 
against the cross-beam, and, bounding up the rounds, 
struck the bell with her knuckles loudly enough to startle 
the devotees in the convent across the Darro. 

Mrs. Wentworth didn't approve of the freak, but when 
she began to chide her daughter in my presence, Doris 
treated the matter lightly. 

"Don't be unreasonable, mother," she said. "I am not 
a believer in charms : but if this bell works a miracle 
in my case, I shall be converted." - " 

"I'm astonished!" exclaimed the matron. "Such be- 
havi-or-isn't like Vou, Doris." ■ 

"Perhaps" I' was a "trifle *t 66 anxious to test the potency 




VISTA FROM THE GATE OF THE GENERALIFE, 
ACROSS ITS BEAUTIFUL GARDEN, TO PIC- 
TURE GALLERY BEYOND 



56 



The Destiny of Doris 



of this bell. Indeed, mother, you might take a chance 
yourself." 

"That will do, Doris!" said Mrs. Wentworth, abruptly; 
but the girl rattled on, obviously to forestall comment 
upon her own conduct. 

"You are right, mamma; this bell is not for widows." 
Turning to me, she added, "I wonder if bachelors, as well 
as maidens, may appeal to it? Shall I ask the old 
woman, Mr. North?" 

Divining the motive for her bantering manner, I en- 
couraged her. 

"It might be well for me to inquire," I said, with af- 
fected seriousness. "Opportunities like this do not occur 
every day." 

Doris turned to the ancient Spanish dame, who re- 
garded the scene with folded arms, and tried her best 
class-room Castillian. The Andalusian matron shook 
her head gravely and said : 

"Alas ! the charm is not for men, and never provided 
a second husband." 

"Have you tried it yourself?" asked Doris, audaciously. 

"Yes, little lady," replied the woman, courtesying, as 
her face developed a flush like mahogany when rubbed 
with an oiled rag; "and it failed." 

To address a heroically built girl like Doris as "seno- 
rita" seemed a weakness of the language, but, in the mer- 
riment of the moment, we let it pass, paid our fee, and 
went to the hotel for luncheon. 

An hour later, we walked up the road to a pretty 
Moorish villa on a mountain-spur outside the fortifica- 
tions. Irving is responsible for designating the Gener- 



ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL COURTS OF 
THE ALHAMBRA, WITH ITS BLOSSOMING 
PLANTS AND FOUNTAIN 



58 



The Destiny of Doris 



alife as a summer residence of the Sultan. It is prob- 
ably a more recent structure. The approach is through 
an elm-bordered road — similar to that by which we sub- 
sequently entered the beautiful villa of the Generalife's 
owner, Marquis di Pallavicini, at Pegli, on the Mediter- 
ranean. The gurgle of running water was always in 
our ears. Boxwood and orchids ornamented the dainty 
garden inside the gate, and the view of Granada from its 
balconies was the best found anywhere. 

Of course we were shown the "Tree of the Sultana," 
under which Irving declares one of the Moorish kings 
surprised a faithless spouse in the arms of a slave. It 
is a giant cypress and upon its trunk many silly people 
had cut their names. 

Descending the hill to the town, we sought out the 
Cathedral and entered the crypt, where, side by side, are 
the veritable coffins of Ferdinand and Isabella. There, 
too, reposed the demented Juana and her husband, Philip ; 
but the family-tie hardly justified their intrusion in such 
a presence. 

What a sarcasm of fate that the bones of Juana and 
Philip should have been preserved, and the grave of Co- 
lumbus be in doubt ! The grateful people of Granada 
have given Columbus a fine monument on the Alameda, 
though Isabella dominates the group. 

An early start was made next morning for Seville, and 
a day of sunshine was passed in the City of the Guad- 
alquivir, before whose Tower of Gold Julius Caesar an- 
chored his ships. The .Moors made Seville beautiful. 
The Arabic Alcazar does not suffer by comparison with 
the Gothic Cathedral, which' has its only rival at Milan. 




STREET SCENE IN SEVILLE, SHOWING A 
GRANDEE OF SPAIN GOING FOR A DRIVE 
ALONG THE GOLDEN RIVER 



6o 



The Destiny of Doris 



The Giralda Tower is the best part of the Cathedral — 
it was a Moorish Minaret. But when the bigoted Isa- 
bella drove out the Arabs, the City of Delight became the 
City of Superstition. 

Seville is twice the size of Granada, and, as a dwelling 
place, is' as ideal as its title of "Most Xoble, Loyal, Heroic, 
and Unconquerable Seville." The true Andalusian hails 
from the banks of the Guadalquivir. The race that em- 
bellished Seville, engrafted upon its language all the 
Oriental hyperbole of its own tongue. Sky, sunshine, 
flowers, painting, music, and religion are of the same 
family as Seville. 

Whatever were the accomplishments of the past, beg- 
ging is the line art of the present. Nowhere in all Eu- 
rope does mendicity flourish as there. 

Life sits lightly upon the soberest shoulders. Men, 
women, and girls are purveyors of gossip, and Seville of 
to-day is as full of jealousy and scandal as was Florence 
in the days of Boccaccio. Nowhere on the peninsula do 
the women wear the mantilla so gracefully, and the viva- 
cious olive-skinned beauties have eyes that would lead 
a saint to perdition. One must go to Seville to under- 
stand Carmen. We saw many Carmens at the cigar- 
ette factory, and felt as if Merimee had preceded .us only 
a single day. 

The Cathedral is the glory of Christian Spain ; its 
sacristy is made heaven-like by canvasses of the incom- 
parable Murillo. In its nave is the memorial to Ferdi- 
nand Columbus, son of the discoverer, whereon we read 
the familiar words : "A Castilla y a Leon Nuevo Mundo 
diu Colon.*' But we liked best of any single object in 



The Arab at His Best 



61 



Seville the Arab muezzin-minaret in gold and gray, — 
the Giralda Tower. It cannot be likened to anything 
on earth, except its poor imitation in New York. One 
might ride a horse nearly to its top, as at the campanile 
of St. Mark's in Venice. The figure of Faith, turning 
with every change of wind, gives it name — the Tower 
of the Weather-cock. 

The Alcazar is the grandest remaining specimen of 
Arabic art in Spain, because the character of the superb 
mosque at Cordova has been destroyed by its alteration 
into a Christian church. It lacks wholly the delicate 
and melancholy beauty of the Alhambra. Upon its 
walls, Moorish ornamentation ran mad ; in its courts was 
the wildest of architectural extravagance. Its Hall of 
Ambassadors leaves a memory of glistening columns and 
dainty arches. Walking through the Alcazar, I found 
no difficulty in realizing that Seville was once a depend- 
ency of Damascus. Most intimately associated with the 
Alcazar in the native mind is Don Pedro — but if we had 
had a surfeit of Ferdinand and Isabella at Granada, in 
Seville we had a deal too much of this bogie-man of 
Spanish history. 

We saw libraries, museums, and galleries, all wonder- 
ful of their kind ; but were we not bound for Naples, 
Alexandria, Cairo, Rome, and Florence, where the wild- 
est craving for books, antiquities, sculptury, and paint- 
ing could be gratified ! 

A night-train carried us to Cadiz. 



MAIN STREET IN TANGIER, NEAR THE 
POST OFFICE, SHOWING THE MUEZZIN 
TOWER OF A MOSQUE 



THE WHITE CITY OF TANGIER, RISING OUT THE SEA, IN THE MORNING SUN 



Chapter Six 

The Arab in His Wane 

N^OW we shall observe the Arab in his utter 
despondency," was my thought, as our 
steamer passed out Cadiz harbor, headed 
across the open sea for Tangier. We were 
outside the gateway of the ancient world ! 

The history of the Arabs is that of a nation that was 
mighty for eight centuries but died without leaving be- 
hind a legitimate name or country. Old "Charles of the 
Hammer" checked the triumphal progress of the Arab 
on the plain of Tours. Frank and Iberian then crowded 
him southward for seven hundred years until they drove 
him back to the shores of Africa. 

A peaceful invasion of Morocco occurs every time a 
steamer reaches Gibraltar from New York or South- 
ampton. A comfortable boat plies every other day be- 
tween Gibraltar and Cadiz, calling at Tangier, and the 
visitor must time his travels so as to connect at one or 
other end of the route.. The most Moorish city on the 

63 



6 4 



The Destiny of Doris 



Mediterranean is thus rendered accessible. In good 
weather, the three hours' trip is very enjoyable. 

"Tangier the beautiful," lies at the back of a pretty 
bay, surrounded by terraced hills. It rises out the 
water, white and shining in the mid-day sun, nearly op- 
posite the Spanish pirate stronghold of Tarifa. A land- 
ing was made in small boats at the English pier. An ex- 
cellent hotel was found near the wharf, at which the 
cooking was French, though the attendants were Moors, 
in their native garb. Mules were waiting after lunch- 
eon, and we started to see the town. Tangier's narrow 
streets are so badly paved and disgustingly dirty, that 
the burro is the only safe and cleanly means of travel. 
Once in the saddle, the riding was easy and comfortable 
— a preparation for Egypt, where the mule is a national 
institution. 

Led by the guide and attended by two drivers, Mrs. 
Went worth, Doris, and I ascended a steep hill through 
the chief commercial artery from which diverges all the 
streets of Tangier. It was as crooked as the bed of a 
mountain torrent. Several mosques were passed ; though 
Christians are not allowed to enter. 

"When we visit Egypt, you will contrast the obse- 
quious attention of the Arabs of Cairo with the arrogant 
indifference and undisguised contempt shown toward us 
by the Arabs of Tangier," remarked Mrs. Wentworth. 
"Here they want nothing of us but our money." 

A visit of courtesy to the Mayor of Tangier, at his 
post of duty in a courtway eight feet square, disclosed 
a handsome but gravely solemn man of sixty years, seated 
on grass matting, robed in rich silks and wearing a 



GROUP OF MOORS OUTSIDE THE WALLS, NEAR 
THE ENGLISH CHURCH : FOREIGN CONSULATES 
SHOWN IN BACKGROUND, AT LEFT 



66 



The Destiny of Doris 



white cotton turban. His black beard was carefully 
trimmed, and his large, lustrous eyes regarded his visitors 
with the condescension always shown by the older toward 
members of the younger races. 

The street was lined with booths in which all trades 
were represented. A tobacconist was separated from a 
tailor by a thin partition of rushes; a law office adjoined 
a blacksmith shop. Doris took a snapshot of a profes- 
sional letter-writer, seen preparing all sorts of papers — 
from the tender billets-doux to contracts for the transfer 
of property. 

The city market was atop the hill, inside the wall, and 
its booths were crowded with wrangling fishmongers and 
blood-stained butchers. Flowers, fruits, and decaying 
vegetables ; meats, fowl, and fish were inextricably 
mingled. Men and women, old and young, were cry- 
ing their bargains in hideous jargon. 

The famous Soko, or "market of the desert," was in 
progress on a sloping hillside overlooking the town, out- 
side the ogival gateway. There we saw specimens of 
all the North African races — but not a negro. The scene 
exhibited the activity of an ant hill. We saw caravans 
that had reached the coast after weeks of travel from 
oases in the Sahara. The traders had come to exchange 
their wares for the gold of Europe. Thither the mer- 
chants of Spain and Italy had voyaged for goods that 
they could not buy elsewhere. In most cases, when the 
bargaining was over, the Arabs had revenged them- 
selves upon the European descendants of their despoilers ! 

A nabob of the desert, gay in his red and yellow caftan, 
looking as if he had ridden from a Gerome or For- 



THESE SNAKE CHARMERS WERE DOING 
BUSINESS IN THE SOKO, OR GREAT FAIR 
OF THE DESERT 



68 



The Destiny of Doris 



tuny canvas, sat his Arabian horse, — motionless on a 
saddle of scarlet leather with velvet pummel and mas- 
sive, brazen stirrups. What were his thoughts? Was 
he dreaming of a black-eyed beauty far away and hid- 
den behind a mushrebiyeh lattice? Or was he await- 
ing the cry of "Ycrga!'' J 

Here, also, were many kinds of fakirs. Snake charm- 
ers from Fez, jugglers from Tetuan, and wandering 
hermit minstrels from lone oases vied with one another 
in attracting attention and extorting copper coins from 
strangers. A hideous old Bedouin approached us. He 

was fantastically be- 
decked with brass or- 
naments, and uttered 
a monotonous w a i 1, 
w h i c h he accompa- 
nied on a one-stringed 
fiddle. He danced so 
furiously that a por- 
trait of him could not 
be taken. Doris want- 
ed his picture, and, 
finding an interpre- 
ter, she asked the man 
from the desert, 

"Can you keep still 
long enough to be 
photographed ?" 

"Impossible, good 
ladv," answered the 




A Hermit Bedouin Dancing Dervish, 
of the Desert. 



Bedouin, waving his hand deprecatingly. 



The Arab in His Wane 



69 



"Bakshish for you !" the interpreter was told to say. 
He received in reply : 

"I am a good Mussulman, and the Koran forbids the 
making of images; 
but, really, (with a 
shrug of his shoul- 
ders) I need money, 
and Allah — 'There 
is nobody greater 
than Allah!' — Allah 
will forgive." 

The American la- 
dies attracted little 
curiosity, aside from 
their hats and gar- 
ments; they evoked 
less comment than 
would the presence of 
two travelers from 
Morocco in a western 
American village. 

The Arab aristo- 
crats completely enveloped their figures in long, cotton 
cloaks, and their feet were encased in sandals, except in 
the mosques and coffee-houses ; but Moors of low degree 
wore only a sack-like garment of bagging, having holes 
for head and arms, and a sash about their loins. Begging 
was not more common than in the Spanish cities. 

Ascending the hill to the English church, — a white- 
building prominently shown in all general views of 
Tangier, — we set out on the highway of the country lead- 




The Orange-grove Keeper, A Modest 
Mussulman. 



7o 



The Destiny of Doris 



ing to Fez. It was a muddy foot-path, punctured with 
hoof-marks, but without a carriage track. It skirted the 
crest of the hill until the handsome modern buildings of 
the British, American, and Belgian legations were passed. 
Far below were the minarets of the city mosques, and be- 
yond shimmered the ocean. Descending into a valley, 
our way became a crooked path along the .bed of a stream. 

We halted at an orange orchard, wherein were thou- 
sands of trees loaded with luscious fruit, and were re- 
ceived by one of the most picturesque natives met any- 
where on our travels. After much persuasion, Doris 
induced him to stand for his picture. Beyond the grove 
all semblance of a road disappeared, and the trampled 
path broadened to half a mile. Our mules were turned 
into a wet meadow, and an hour's ride brought us to the 
seashore bordering the harbor. The beach was of hard 
sand, and afforded better footing than the swamps of the 
up-lands. 

The castle is a wreck of the past, without any vestige 
of departed grandeur. Tangier, from its battlements, 
is picturesque and comprehensive. In all directions 
good Arabs were seen emerging upon their roofs in antic- 
ipation of the call to evening prayers. 

"There is no conqueror but God," the Moor has con- 
tinued to proclaim from every wall, but he apparently 
stands in poor favor with the Almighty. 

Facing an open square, outside the castle wall, are the 
prison, the Imperial Treasury and the house of the Gov- 
ernor of the province. Across the plaza is the Hall of 
Justice — a vaulted room, open to the street, where we 
found a turbaned judge sitting upon the floor and decid- 



The Arab in His Wane 71 

ing without the help of a jury all civil cases brought be- 
fore him. Court being in session, Doris and her mother 
were anxious to attend. An interesting case, involving 
the ownership of ten square metres of land, was called. 
The plaintiff was an aged Moorish woman, clad in a 




On the Citadel-heights. 
Court of Justice. Governor's Harem. Imperial Treasury. 



single garment of sackcloth, and accompanied by her 
husband, who was covered with rags and patches. The 
defendant was a man of middle age, not so poorly 
dressed. All were barelegged and unshod. 

The defendant, on approaching the seat of justice, 
kissed the tips of the fingers on his right hand, and 
touched the turban of the magistrate, after which he 
seated himself to hear the evidence. 



72 



The Destiny of Doris 



Without being sworn, the plaintiff stated her case with 
volubility, and the guide thus interpreted as she pro- 
gressed : 

"I sold to this man Safira ten square metres of land 
on the Tetuan road for fifty pesetas. (Aside. — The land 
came to me from my father.) This Safira took posses- 
sion, raised crops and sold them, but never paid me a 
millieme. I want my land back and payment for the 
crop this man has raised." 

This testimony was corroborated by her husband, who 
appeared duly humble, owing to the wealth possessed 
by his wife. In that Tangier household, woman did 
not occupy an abject position! 

The defendant alleged that he had made certain pay- 
ments, that the land was not as fertile as represented, and 
the crops had been meagre. Therefore, he had been un- 
able to meet his obligations. His manner was calm, 
contrasting with the prosecutor who had pitched her voice 
in a shrill key. He was too deferential toward the judge, 
but that may have been due to his respect for the law. 
He declared that he had a witness to the payment of ten 
pesetas, and was given half an hour to produce him, — a 
water-carrier in the Street of the Caliph. 

A prison for condemned murderers adjoined the Im- 
perial Treasury. The men and boys occupied a large 
room with a mud floor. An opening in the wall barely 
large enough to allow a prisoner to crawl through was 
its only door. A swarthy keeper stood guard outside 
with a drawn scimiter. We inspected the interior 
through the small aperture. The men were shackled 
at the ankles. A boy of fourteen who had killed three 




A MOORISH WOMAN POURING CONFIDENCES INTO 
THE EARS OF THE LETTER-WRITER, CAUSING 
HIM TO HESITATE FOR WORDS 



74 



The Destiny of Doris 



people was pointed out. His last appeal had been heard 
and denied, so he would be taken to the City of Morocco 
for decapitation in a few days. In a serene frame of 
mind, he was busily engaged in making straw baskets, 
one of which Mrs. Wentworth purchased. Both ladies 
were deeply touched, but moderated their grief when 
the guard taxed them a franc for looking at the prisoners. 

Since his retirement from public life, a former Gover- 
nor of the Khanate has added to his income by permit- 
ting his four wives to receive calls from foreign ladies. 
His dwelling stood at the back of the Treasury, its small 
wicket guarded by a black slave. Imbued with the same 
curiosity that has enticed other strangers, Doris and her 
mother entered the marble courtyard. After half an 
hour's absence, they reappeared at the outer door, where 
the guide and I awaited them. 

"Whether it be a real harem or not, I certainly have 
seen two very beautiful young girls," exclaimed Mrs. 
Wentworth. "Their large dark eyes, fine olive complex- 
ions, and painted lips made them pictures of Oriental 
loveliness. They were elaborately dressed in bright-col- 
ored silken robes, with a profusion of jewels, and reclined 
on sumptuous divans. Older women waited on the two 
young favorites, and I was highly interested in listening 
to their halting French. Doris, however, became fright- 
ened by the importunities of the serving-women for 
money." 

"You do not realize, madame," hastily interposed our 
guide, "that 'money' is probably the only English word 
they know." 

"At all events," said Mrs. Wentworth, "ladies who en- 



The Arab in His Wane 



75 



ter the place expecting to behold groups of languid-eyed, 
jewel-bedecked women surrounded by slaves, resting 
amid perfumed vapors and listening to music or accom- 
panying the lute in soft monotones, will be disappointed. 
However, the visit has given us a correct impression of 
the interior of a Moorish home of some wealth, the na- 
tional dress of the women, and their domestic life." 

The descent from the citadel-hill is very steep. Mrs. 
Wentworth, who never met a fence that she couldn't 
take, trusted her mule implicitly. Doris was not to be 
outdone, and kept her seat; but she conceded the good 
sense of any woman who dismounted and walked. 
Broken bones in Tangier would be serious, because there 
is no hospital, and surgeons are unknown. 

After dinner and a brief rest, we went with a native 
guide to a Moorish coffee-house. The large apartment 
was crowded with patrons, all seated on the floor. An 
orchestra of eight musicians, curled up on mats, made 
hideous noises at one end of the room. The players 
drank tea, in which mint-leaves were crushed. An Arab 
who sat near pointed out to us a young musician strum- 
ming a mandolin, who rolled his eyes and uttered a low 
plaintive chant. He was a Tangier nabob, leading an 
improvisation about the Alhambra, which he closed with 
a prophecy that the Crescent would supplant the Cross 
in Southern Europe. The music was saved from mono- 
tone only by wild outbursts from members of the or- 
chestra, which suggested the czardis of the Hungarians. 
The singer's words stirred the musicians to fever-heat, 
and each verse closed with shouts of "Yerga!" 

"Who is he?" Mrs. Wentworth asked our dragoman. 



7 6 



The Destiny of Doris 



"Him not play for money," the turbaned native pro- 
tested. "He mother, she work ; she ver' reech ; keep big 
shop — work ver' hard. Him no work; him sleep ail 
day and play a' night. Him poet, great musician — 
write many songs." 

He was the envy of every youngster in Tangier who 
hadn't a mother to support him in idleness. The coffee- 
house is the Arab's club, and, when the music is still, 
the guests exchange gossip and scandal as do the most 
civilized men and women. In all Mohammedan coun- 
tries, however, woman has no place in conversation 
among men : she is considered of too slight importance. 

Several schools for small children were visited next 
morning, where scores of boys were seen and heard re- 
peating in dreariest monotones, the Arabic : "Allah ! Al- 
lah is great ; nobody is greater than Allah," accompanied 
by a constant swaying of the body. From seven to 
twelve and from one to five o'clock this constituted their 
only lesson. 

"We shall see the Arab again in Egypt, whence he set 
out to subdue Western Europe; having wrested from 
the Romans the Key to the World," said Mrs. Went- 
worth to Doris, as we stood on deck next day while the 
vessel steamed out of port. "As found here, he is less 
attractive, but certainly very curious." 

Belief is common along the African coast that Eng- 
land will reassert her claim to Morocco, based on its 
gift to Charles IT., as the dower of Catherine of Bra- 
ganza, though the British abandoned it in 1684. Eng- 
lishmen and Americans are securing large tracts of land 
near Tangier, and await a turn of the political card. 




A BOY'S SCHOOL, WHERE THE GROW- 
ING ARAB MIND IS FED ON THE KORAN 
MANY HOURS DAILY 



PROCESSION OF WATER-CARRIERS, UNDER THE ACACIA TREES AT ISMAILIYA. 



Chapter Seven 

True to Prophecy 

THE Barbary pirates of Tarifa, who levied toll 
on all ships that passed the Strait, are 
dead. Their descendants still exact a liv- 
ing from the sea ; but the fisher's trade 
makes old age surer, since piracy has fallen into dis- 
favor. We returned in safety, therefore, to that frown- 
ing Rock, beyond which Herodotus placed the region of 
eternal night. 

Dinner and the steamer from New York were simul- 
taneously announced that evening. The ship was to take 
coal, and would not sail for Naples until noon next day. 
Having letters to answer, I had regretfully declined Mrs. 
Wentworth's invitation to join her at table, and had gone 
to my hotel. I learned, however, that Mr. Blake came 
ashore promptly and found his friends without difficulty. 
He engaged a box at the opera and the three heard "La 
Traviata," sung by an Italian company. Miss Went- 
worth's animation during the evening delighted her 

78 



A GROUP OF ARAB REFORMERS ATTEMPTING 
TO INTRODUCE AT GIBRALTAR A SUBSTITUTE 
FOR BRANDY-AND-SODA 



8o 



The Destiny of Doris 



mother. The girlish face was a picture of happiness 
in the presence of Mr. Blake. The young people were 
too busy contemplating each other to give much attention 
to the music; still, judging from what I heard when I 
dropped in at the end of the second act, they missed 
nothing; for the tenor's notes were as false as those of 
"Jim the Penman." I saw Doris for the first time in 
evening dress. She looked charming, in a gown of 
shimmering white satin, covered with filmy lace. 

After the opera, we walked with the ladies to their 
hotel, where young Blake learned that the gates of the 
city are always closed at eleven o'clock. After the 
first shock, he was glad to remain ashore, that he might 
assist the ladies in embarking. 

I put Mr. Blake up at my hotel, but he rose early, and, 
I learned afterward, sent a large basket of flowers aboard 
ship to await the object of his affections. 

When I contemplated my feelings, I was amazed at 
the change two weeks had wrought in me. I found my- 
self unexpectedly associated with a wooing of a highly 
romantic character, in which the position of an old ac- 
quaintance of the mother was rapidly changing to that of 
a father-confessor to the daughter. I realized that 
before another week closed, the young people 
would be coming to me for advice. A senti- 
mental element had become associated with my trip, 
I had intended to leave the ship at Naples and hasten 
to Rome ; but I experienced indescribable joy when Mrs. 
Wentworth expressed regret that I was not going with 
them to Egypt. She could not have asked me in any 
more delicate way to remain one of the party. One night, 



True to Prophecy 81 

as we were watching the lights on the coast of Sardinia, 
I suddenly called her "Louise," as in the old days. Ev- 
ery hour after leaving Gibraltar, my interest in the 
woman I had loved as a girl became more definite, until 
I felt her absence if I did not see her frequently. Al- 




Charybdis, on the Sicily Shore. 



ready had she cast over me the spell of sympathy, so 
closely akin to love ; but I have no intention of recount- 
ing the emotions of a warmed-over affection. 

We made a happy party in the dining-room of the 
steamship, having an end of a table to ourselves. That 
trip to Naples, through the smooth waters of the Medi- 
terranean, did not contain a dull moment. While Mrs. 
Wentworth never relaxed the chaperonage of her daugh- 



82 



The Destiny of Doris 



ter, she manifested less and less anxiety to have Doris 
by her side when we were together. By the time Mount 
Vesuvius rose out the sea, I would have followed her to 
the end of the earth. 

The companionship of the young people attracted little 
of my attention. Together they studied guide books and 
histories ; in the dull part of every afternoon, they'd 
go to the grand salon, where Doris would play and sing. 
Though light in volume, her voice had been thoroughly 
cultivated, and it possessed rare sweetness. 

Naples was sighted late in the afternoon of the fourth 
day. Every window on the hillside behind the city was 
aflame in the sunlight. We had seen the purple smoke 
from Vesuvius for several hours ; but not until Capri 
was passed did we behold the volcano itself. The for- 
tress of St. Elmo, on the sky line, admirably assisted the 
composition of this wonderful picture. It was the sub- 
lime view of Xaples and her glorious bay that photo- 
graphs and prints have made so familiar! 

Our boat for Port Said was due from Genoa the fol- 
lowing afternoon, and we landed without serious trouble 
at the custom-house. Tobacco, salt, liquors, and fire- 
arms were contraband. We had none. 

For a stay of only one night, our party chose a hotel 
near the wharf in preference to the better establish- 
ments on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, a noble terraced 
avenue that follows the sides of the hills, as does the 
Via di Circomvallazione a Monte at Genoa. We heard 
"Rigoletto" at the San Carlo, which disputes with La 
Scala, at Milan, possession of the largest auditorium in 
the world, and afterward took coffee in the Galleria Um- 



CITY OF MESSINA; TAKEN FROM THE HEIGHTS 
OF SICILY, SHOWING WIDTH OF THE STRAIT; 
ITALY IN THE BACKGROUND 



8 4 



The Destiny of Doris 



berto, a lofty glass-covered passage, shaped like a Greek 
cross. Its site was a pest hole when the cholera ravaged 
Naples in 1884. Deaths averaged nine hundred a day 
in the houses that have since been razed to create this at- 
tractive feature of the new city. Its only rival in Europe 
is the Galleria Yittorio Emanuele at Milan. 

Leaving all sight-seeing until our return from Egypt, 
we drove westward next day along the Posilipo road to 
Pozzuoli and the promontory beyond. 

We were really glad to get back aboard ship that 
evening, and as the steamer was filled with passengers 
bound for the Far East, Mr. Blake shared with me the 
stateroom he had secured by wire from Gibraltar. 

After taking possession of our quarters, we assembled 
on deck to watch the lights of the city. In no other way 
is the immensity of Naples so appreciated. It stretches 
along the coast from the site of buried Pompeii to the 
western headland, which abruptly ends the picture, — a 
length of twenty miles. 

"We now begin the most interesting part of our trip," 
exclaimed Mrs. Wentworth, with an enthusiasm that 
was contagious. "This steamer carries us to the east- 
ern extremity of the Mediterranean : the Suez Canal, 
Cairo, and all Egypt will be ours to enjoy. We shall 
ascend the Nile to Nubia, climb the Pyramid of Cheops 
at Gizeh ; descend into the tombs of the Sacred Bulls at 
Memphis. We shall revel in antiquity!" 

"Let us include Palestine," added Doris. "We may 
never be so near Jerusalem again — " 

"That is agreed," interrupted Blake. 

"You have 'The New Jerusalem' in mind, I suppose," 



*'AU REVOIR!"-A FAVORITE WIFE LEAVING HOME TO SHOP 
IN THE MUSKI, ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY A BOY-CHILD, IF 
SHE HAVE ONE 



86 



The Destiny of Doris 



retorted Doris. "If so, kindly speak for yourself, Mr, 
Blake." 

"Stop quarreling, children," said Mrs. Wentworth, 
with affected seriousness. "Is it agreed we go to Pales- 
tine? Your vote is necessary, Mr. North," she added, 
turning to me. 

"That's one place along the Mediterranean, I haven't 
visited; let's go!" I promptly replied. 

"Its cheapness appeals to me," added Mrs. Went- 
worth, frankly. "The expenses from Cairo to Jerusalem 
going and returning, are twenty-five dollars !" 

"That's true, the dearest item is the guide book to 
Palestine," was my comment. 

Thus did we add another link to the chain of our des- 
tinies. 

Morning found the Preussen in sight of the slumbering 
volcano of Stromboli, which rises out the sea in solitary 
grandeur. A small town, without pier or breakwater, 
lay at its eastern base. In the absence of information 
in books, we appealed to the captain. 

"Stromboli is the safety valve of Vesuvius," said he. 
"When one mountain is at work, the other rests. As 
the cone is much lower on the western side, the lava flows 
out there, and the safety of the town is thus assured. At 
night, a red glow hovers intermittently on the summit, 
and Stromboli is known as 'the lighthouse of the Medi- 
terranean.' It is no longer out of the world, as it has 
a cable to Sicily, — the mountains of which you will soon 
see." 

From this gigantic heap of cinders and masses of 



IN THE SUEZ CANAL, AMID THE DESO- 
LATION OF THE DESERT; A STEAMER 
BOUND FOR CHINA 



88 The Destiny of Doris 

slag, towering to a height of three thousand feet, our 
course lay direct for the Strait of Messina. 

A sand bar, extending a mile into the sea and bearing 
a beacon, marked Charybdis. On the eastern shore was 
the white city of Scylla, with its noble castle, built 476 
B. C. 

"Ulysses found the sirens over there" — I began, in- 
dicating the mainland. 

"They don't live at Scylla now," interjected Mrs. 
Wentworth. "Their probable address is Naples." 

"Perhaps you're right; but they zvere there in Ulys- 
ses' day." 

"I don't see our courageous captain lashing himself to 
the mast, or filling the ears of his men with oakum," she 
retorted saucily. "He's passed here often, and ought to 
know." 

"Nothing dangerous about that water," commented 
Blake. "I once swam Hell Gaje, and two years ago, I 
crossed the Hellespont at Abydos in much worse cur- 
rents. How about sharks?" 

"They are the real sirens of to-day," answered the 
second officer. "But sharks never eat live human be- 
ings; that is an exploded idea." 

"I'm afraid of them. I say, weren't Homer and Virgil 
terrible exaggerators ? You couldn't blame 'the old man' 
so much ; he was blind and never had been here. But 
Virgil must have known this place well, and deliberately 
made a Munchausen of himself." 

Doris appeared with a copy of Pope's Homer, which 
she had discovered in the ship's library. She read : 



True to Prophecy 89 



" 'The swiftest racer of the azure sea 
Here fills her sails, and spreads her oars a-lee ; 
Fell Scylla rises, in her fury roars, 
At once six mouths expands, at once six men devours.' " 




Fresh-water Canal, Along the Salty Suez Waterway. 



"Pope had more courage than Ulysses," commented 
Doris; "he rhymed 'devours' to 'roars.' But listen to 
the next few lines : 

" 'Close by, a rock of less enormous height 

Breaks the wild waves, and forms a dangerous strait; 
Beneath, Charybdis holds her boisterous reign 
Midst roaring whirlpools, and absorbs the main ; 



90 



The Destiny of Doris 



Thrice in her gulfs the boiling seas subside, 
Thrice, 'mid dire thunders, she refunds the tide. 

Ah ! shun the horred gulf ! By Scylla fly, 
'Tis better six to lose, than all to die.' " 

I recalled Virgil's exaggerated description in the third 
book of the ^Eneid, though I didn't attempt to quote it, 
but I pointed out the place where in 1783 a part of 
Monte Baci, the adjacent headland, slid into the sea and 
raised a wave that engulfed four thousand people. 

Now fairly in the Strait, the pretty city of Messina, 
stretching for several miles along the shore, was stud- 
ied through a glass. Behind, rose the mountains of 
Sicily, — a terraced vineyard. "Without Sicily, Italy is 
nothing," wrote Goethe. Hare says "it is not a beauti- 
ful island, but a very ugly island with a few exquisitely 
beautiful spots." Slightly smaller than Sardinia, Sicily 
has finer cities and more miles of railway. "The Strada 
Etnae of Catania is the handsomest street in Italy," says 
Hare. Sicily is the flower-garden of Europe. 

Between us and the setting sun, a gigantic snow- 
crowned peak, smoking more violently than had Vesu- 
vius, stood apart from cloud-land. When night fell, its 
top could be seen for hours, made luminous by a sulphur- 
ous glow. It was iEtna ! 

We said good night to Europe. 

The Mediterranean was as smooth as a pond ; its warm 
breezes were as the breath of summer. On the fourth 
day, Africa was descried at the Damietta mouth of the 
Nile. A glass showed a group of warehouses and a fleet 



CAIRO, FROM THE HEIGHTS OF MOKKATAN, SHOWING 
MOSQUE OF MAHOMET ALI AND THE CITADEL, WHERE 
THE MAMELUKES WERE KILLED 



92 



The Destiny of Doris 



of sailing craft. The pilot for Port Said soon came 
aboard, and by noon we were abreast the long pier that 
marks the entrance to the artificial harbor. The channel 
into the canal was buoyed. Every man of us lifted his 
hat to the gigantic statue of De Lesseps at the shore-end 
of the pier. Its admirable pose and the welcome ex- 
tended by the right hand are memorable. 

A small boat bore us ashore in Africa; the custom- 
house officials accepted our statements that we were 
tourists, and we drove to a hotel to await the afternoon 
train for the capital. We made the usual tour through 
the Arab quarter, equaling Tangier in strange scenes 
and foul odors, but lacking the picturesque surround- 
ings. 

A narrow-gauge railway followed the bank of the 
Saez Canal fifty miles to Ismailiya, where we entered a 
dining-car and rolled into the new station at Cairo three 
hours later. 




THE NILE AT CAIRO, NEAR THE PALACE OF THE KHEDIVE S MOTHER. 



Chapter Eight 



A False Oracle 



THE traveler to El Kahira, or Cairo, passes two 
bloody battle-fields on which the destiny of 
the vassal kingdom of Egypt was decided. 
The first is Tell-el-Kebir, where per- 
ished the last hope of Egyptian release from the fast- 
tightening grip of England, when, in 1882, Arabi Bey, 
propagandist of Democracy, was crushingly defeated 
by Sir Garnet Wolseley. The second is the broad plain 
on which Napoleon overthrew the Mamelukes in the 
Battle of the Pyramids (1798), and where he said: "If 
I could unite the Mameluke horsemen to the French in- 
fantry, I'd count myself master of the world." Well 
might he have said to his troops, "Forty centuries look 
down upon you ;" for the Pyramids of Gizeh, Abusir, and 
Sakkara are clearly in sight. 

Egypt is no longer "a dead nation in a dying land," 
as Kingsley described her, but is on the road of progress. 
The Soudan has been reconquered by Kitchener, and the 

93 



94 



The Destiny of Doris 



Egyptian flag fles over Khartum. Practically, the cul- 
tivable part of Egypt, barely exceeding 11,000 square 
miles, ends at Assouan. The Nile Valley above the 
Delta is a mere strip of arable land bordered on either 
side by a desert and varying in width from four miles at 
Cairo to a few hundred yards at Assouan. A map 
shows the valley to have the form of a great snake, 
tapering to a slender tail. 

Cairo, Egypt's capital, is a modern city and one of the 
finest in the Eastern hemisphere, abounding in broad, 
well-shaded, admirably-paved and electrically-lighted 
boulevards. Where were formerly dilapidated rooker- 
ies, are now handsome business- and dwelling-houses. 
Its hotels equal those of London and Paris in comfort and 
cuisine. Electric trams take you to all its suburbs, even 
to the Pyramids at Gizeh ; and its two-horse victorias are 
better than those of the French capital. 

Ismail Pasha, who created New Cairo, had passed 
much of his early life at Paris, and in his enthusiastic 
desire to rival the Gay Capital he financially wrecked his 
country. He found Egypt with a small debt and ex- 
cellent credit, on which he borrowed and squandered 
$500,000,000 — chiefly obtained from Germany, England, 
and France. Then came a day of reckoning, resulting 
in his deposition, the intrusion of an English "advisor" in 
the person of a Consul-General, and, at a later day, of 
British soldiery under the title of "The Army of Occupa- 
tion." 

England no longer disguises her intention to main- 
tain her troops in Egypt. 

Nevertheless, the Ismailian quarter is the glory of 



NEW CAIRO; VIEW OF SHEPHEARD'S 
HOTEL AND SHOPPING STREET IN 
THE MODERN CITY 



9 6 



The Destiny of Doris 



Cairo. The starting-point of these improvements is the 
Ezbekiyeh Gardens, twenty acres of verdure in the heart 
of the town. This park contains specimens of all the 
rare trees and shrubs of Africa. The acacia, the white- 
and date-palm, the banana, the large red-flowered erbus- 
cus, and the purple, vine-covered bougainvillier are there. 
On its southern side is the famous opera house, for the 
opening of which Verdi was engaged to write "Aida." 
It was only one of Ismail's extravagances. A heroic 
bronze equestrian statue of Ibrahim Pasha, father of 
Ismail, stands in the plaza near by. From the Ezbe- 
kiyeh Gardens diverge, west and north, the broad streets 
of Ismailian Cairo, crowded with fine hotels and resi- 
dences — the latter beautified by harem-windows of 
mouchrebiyeh wood-work. 

As a constant reminder of Egypt's present servile po- 
sition, the headquarters of ''The Army of Occupation" 
is on one of the best of the new avenues, Sharia Kasr- 
en-Nil; the British Consul-General, who is the actual 
ruler of Egypt, dwells there, and six thousand foreign 
troops occupy the barracks at the Ismailian-end of the 
Nile Bridge. After the opening of the Suez Canal, 
Cairo felt a strong French influence ; but when the Eng- 
lish Occupation became an assured permanency, the 
Greek, Italian, and French capitalists were prompt to 
recognize the new guarantee of stability, and began to 
invest their money in fine hotels and other property. 

Outside the bazaars, the shops are few and confined 
chiefly to the Sharia Kamel Pasha, on which are Shep- 
heard's and the Continental Hotels. The streets present 
a cosmopolitan appearance, with the equipages, automo- 




TOMB OF THE MASSACRED MAMELUKES, BEHIND 
THE CITADEL: HAVING SLAUGHTERED THEM, THE 
KHEDIVE BURIED THEM IN SPLENDOR 



98 The Destiny of Doris 



biles, camel caravans, and donkeys inextricably mixed. 

The native ladies always drive, preceded by one or 
two fleet runners, gaily jacketed. The women are gen- 
erally dressed in white, with white gauze face-coverings ; 
but on the popular thoroughfares many European and 
American ladies are seen with uncovered faces. 

We made a general round-up of Cairo the day after 
our arrival. The mosques were disposed of first. We 
drove to the citadel, built by Saladin (1166 A. D.), and 
desecrated by the massacre of 480 Mamelukes (1811) at 
the order of Mohammed Ali. Stains on the marble floor 
of the adjacent mosque of Sultan Hassan, indicate that 
the Mamelukes who escaped from the citadel, where they 
had been trapped like rats, were pursued into this house 
of worship and hacked to pieces on their knees before the 
kaba. Those dark-brown spots caused the same shud- 
der felt in the death-chamber of the Abencerrages, ad- 
jacent to the Lion Court of the Alhambra. Mahomet 
the Prophet had inculcated treachery by procuring the 
assassination of the Mecca pilgrims ; and Mohammed 
Ali felt justified in annihilating the Mamelukes — already 
humbled by Xapoleon. He made a clean job, because 
only one Mameluke, Amin Bey, escaped, — by jumping 
from the parapet of the castle, sixty feet high into the 
moat. The victims were given handsome tombs, within 
sight of the citadel in which they had been slaughtered; 
and there they sleep without a name or mark to dis- 
tinguish chief from subaltern. 

Those tombs were to me the most melancholy mod- 
ern objects in Egypt! 

When firmly established, — by means of a dastardly and 




L.ofC. 



IOO 



The Destiny of Doris 



bloody crime, — Mohammed Ali erected inside the citadel 
a beautiful, alabaster-lined mosque, with two slender min- 
arets, which forms a part of every picture of the Egyptian 
capital. Thither the present Khedive, Abbas II. Hilmi, 
great-grandson of Ibrahim Pasha (who was an adopted 
son of Mohammed Ali), goes in October of each year 
to pass a night in prayer, taking 3,000 troops as a body- 
guard; but while in the mosque he is as humble as the 
poorest Arab, resting on a carpet and praying in a niche, 
prepared for his devotions. 

The Mosque of Sultan Hassan (1356) is a much finer 
specimen of Byzantine architecture. Its splendid arched 
gateway has been imitated throughout the Moslem 
world. 

The bazaars are the wonder-places of old Cairo. 

A day among them gave the first keen impression of 
Eastern life. Every group and shop-front was a pic- 
ture, gay in color or sombre in shade. At each street- 
corner was a surprise, and along each narrow lane, kept 
muddy by constant sprinkling, was a kaleidescopic pic- 
ture of figures, strange and curious. Every race of the 
Eastern world was represented. A crowded thorough- 
fare called the Muski — the Broadway of old Cairo — 
penetrated the heart of the bazaar section. Pale-faced 
Greek merchants, black Nubians, shifty-eyed Persians, 
bare-legged Egyptian porters, copper-colored Bedouins, 
and red-faced Englishmen jostled one another in the 
human tide that ebbed and flowed. In front of each 
single-roomed shop sat the merchant ; some were eager 
for barter, with more varieties of prices than a Baxter 
street "puller in ;" others were silently trusting in Allah 



IN THE BAZAARS OF THE MUSKI; GROUP 
OF ARAB MERCHANTS AND ASSISTANTS: 
EACH BOOTH A SHOP 



io2 The Destiny of Doris 



to bring them customers, but keen and ready when a 
victim arrived. Crossing and recrossing the Aluski, 
every branch of Eastern art was met. Competition 
seemed to be the soul of trade ; for each class of mer- 
chandise Or artisan had its separate quarter. A noisy 
colony of brass-workers was succeeded by silent leather- 
sewers or curtain-makers. Turning a corner, we saw 
ahead many rods of red or yellow slippers, each pair 
thrown over a wire and swaying in the wind, like two 
antagonistic cats suspended by their tails. The sharp- 
pointed, red Egyptian slippers could be bought as low 
as a shilling a pair, but the yellow Tunisian shoes com- 
manded higher prices. Carpet- and rug-shops were ev- 
erywhere. 

Among this babel of trade constantly passed the water- 
vender and the coffee-maker. At a signal, the latter 
would stop and light his lamp, mix the sugar and dust- 
like coffee in a small copper pot, heat and serve it, re- 
ceive his pay, and move on. 

The annoyances to visitors have been exaggerated. 

"How shall we go to the Pyramids, to-morrow?" I 
inquired, as we sat at dinner that evening. 

''Let us ride there on camels," answered Doris. 'That 
would add a touch of real romance to the first visit." 

'The electric tram suits me," volunteered Airs. Went- 
worth. 

"Why not take a carriage all the way?" suggested 
Blake. 

I proposed a combination that embodied the three sug- 
gestions. 

"We shall have to drive across the Nile Bridge, be- 



A False Oracle 



103 



cause the sun is too warm to walk. There let us take 
the electric tram to the Mena House, where we can hire 
camels, and ride to the Sphinx. Returning to the Great 
Pyramid, we shall climb it and — come back to town." 

That programme was followed, and the camel-ride was 
quite long enough to satisfy the wildest curiosity. 

Every preconceived idea of the Pyramids was con- 




Great Pyramid, from Mena House, End of Tramway 

firmed, except their color; for the tawny-tan limestone 
was unlike anything seen elsewhere. This hue had not 
been imparted by a stain, similar to that upon the fillet 
across the brow of the Sphinx. The vast mass of stone 
disappointed Miss Wentworth and Blake until they un- 
dertook to climb it. 



io4 



The Destiny of Doris 



The Sphinx lay wallowing in a sandy hollow to the 
- eastward of the Great Pyramid. ' Small in size, 
it embodies the largest unsolved mystery of the Past. 

On the fillet, across the brow of the Sphinx, Mr. 
Blake found and transcribed an Arabic inscription. To 
our surprise, when deciphered by a Professor at the Uni- 
versity of Cairo, the word was "Yerga !" A Mameluke 
chieftain, fleeing southward after the defeat by Napo- 
leon on July 2 1 st, 1798, had climbed to the head of the 
sleepless Monster of the Desert and painted there his de- 
fiance and his prophecy. He was a Wizard of the Nile. 
The Mamelukes did indeed return, — to be slaughtered 
like dogs by Mohammed Ali ; and the Arabs regained 
their country from the French only to give it to the Eng- 
lish ! 

Only a small part of the hybrid animal is exposed — 
the back, head, breast, and forepaw. Nothing indicates 
that it was a figure of stupendous size or importance. 
The body appears to be composed of concrete. The 
mange of time has effaced any evidence of a hide. A 
terrible wound, as with a mighty scimiter, divided the 
back, near the haunches. The assertion that the Sqhinx 
was cut from a solid block of limestone does not bear in- 
vestigation ; the head is composed of two separate blocks, 
differing in hardness, the neck is of a coarse, sea-pebble 
concrete, and small slabs of marble are used to form the 
legs and paws. A keen regret is felt that this monster 
should be allowed to suffocate in the dust. 

"Cannot a man be found, somewhere, who will have 
the Sphinx completely uncovered, and build a fence that 
will keep out the sand?" exclaimed Doris. 



GENERAL VIEW FROM EASTWARD OF THE 
SPHINX AND THREE PYRAMIDS, AT GIZEH, 
SHOWING THEIR RELATIVE POSITIONS 



io6 



The Destiny of Doris 



"It would be the straightest route to fame ever trav- 
eled," I added, "and need not cost $10,000." 

''Any American railroad contractor will undertake to 
build a wind-break to deflect the sand in another direc- 
tion," commented Blake. "A fence of steel plates, be- 
tween the first and second Pyramids, would probably ac- 
complish the result." 

As early as the XVIIIth Dynasty (1500 B. C), Thut- 
mosis IV. partly-dug out the Sphinx, but it was first com- 
pletely excavated by Caviglia, at a cost of $2,200. A 
few thousand dollars more would have kept it clear of 
sand forever. 

The ascent and descent of the Great Pyramid was an 
hour's hard work. All that has been written about the 
ease attending its accomplishment goes for nothing after 
you have finished the task. The Bedouins of Gizeh are 
a privileged class, They have rights at the Pyramid 
that nobody can successfully dispute. It was a case of 
"Pay, Pay, Pay! " from start to finish. 

"Firie lady," suggested the Bedouin who was pulling 
me up the slope, as he nodded toward Airs. Wentworth. 

"Indeed she is," I replied, with emphasis. 

"She good wife, me sure," added the son of the Sheik, 
who held the other hand. 

"Very good," I gasped, short of breath, joining the 
endorsement with a hope near my heart. 

"You daughter pretty, like mother," said the first Bed- 
ouin, as he dislocated my shoulder by a powerful jerk. 

"Yes," I wheezed, hardly caring whether or not the 
falsehood about Doris' parentage was separated from the 
truth about her beautv. 



LABORIOUS TO CLIMB IS THE BIG PYRAMID, 
AS THIS PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS, BECAUSE THE 
STONE-COURSES VARY IN HEIGHT 



io8 



The Destiny of Doris 



"He love pretty girl," added the Sheik's son, pointing 
to Blake, and smiling his approval as he nodded toward 
Doris. 

"Her brother," I replied, deliberately, to test a sus- 
picion that I was being cross-examined. 

There the subject rested until we reached the well- 
known resting-place, about three-quarters up the Pyra- 
mid. Then the fortune-teller appeared, drew a circle 
in some sand, quartered it and made twelve dots around 
it for the signs of the Zodiac. He then asked the ladies 
to place coins in the magic horoscope ; and after my Bed- 
ouin had concluded a chant in Arabic, the soothsayer 
began : 

"You husband love you very much ; you both children 
proud of mother ; daughter, she marry, have two boys ; 
son not want marry, but have sweetheart in America. 
You husband he give big present." 

"My husband ?" asked Mrs. Wentworth, annoyed. 

"Look at he kind face," said the fortune-teller, glanc- 
ing upward at me. "See how he smile with joy." 

Everybody gazed in my direction. 

Convulsed with laughter, I explained how I had been 
interrogated during the ascent. Then we compared ex- 
periences, and found that each of us had been on the 
witness-stand. 

Later, we ascertained that our dragoman had made 
inquiries at the hotel on his own account, with a view, 
no doubt, to telling our fortunes for his personal profit 
if we did not ascend the Pyramid and get into the grasp 
of the Bedouins. It is needless to say that he was de- 
lighted at the discomfiture of the Sons of the Desert, 



A False Oracle 



109 



and told a merry tale in the coffee-houses of Cairo that 
night. 

Escape from the Bedouins of Gizeh is not easy, under 
the most favorable circumstances. A tariff is fixed by 
the Egyptian Government for the services rendered ; but 
at the top of the Pyramid money was extorted, and after 
the descent a horde of candidates for bakshish appeared 
who had not been seen before. At this crisis, our drago- 
man was worth every piastre we paid him. He displayed 
considerable courage, and rescued us from a crowd of 
jabbering natives that threatened to take the clothes off 
our backs. Especially had we been warned against an 
old scamp who called himself ''Doctor Marketa Twain ;" 
but I found him at another visit, and the acquaintance 
cost me ten shillings. 

The top of the Great Pyramid is not a level platform; 
a few remaining blocks of a tier that had been partly 
removed, made excellent seats. The Second Pyramid 
with its smooth-surfaced top, seemed quite near at hand. 
Unlike the view from a mountain-top, the face of the 
Pyramid was so nearly the visual line of sight when we 
stood erect, that the effect was as if we gazed over a 
precipice. The sandy desert lay directly at our feet, on 
all sides ! From no other vantage-point can be gained 
a correct idea of the way in which this grandest grave- 
yard on earth was planned. Cairo, with its glittering 
domes and its fairy mosque, was an unavoidable part of 
the picture, but quite out of keeping. To the south, 
perfect harmony of color reigned. In a wavy line, 
through the creamy yellow of the desert, was embroidered 
a silver thread that shimmered in the sun, — the Nile ! 



ALL THAT IS LEFT OF ONCE-MIGHTY AND POPULOUS MEMPHIS 



Chapter Nine 



Disappointments of a Mummy 




HEX you take a plunge into antiquity and 
want to dive deeply, go to Memphis 



and its Campo-Santo, Sakkara. 

Nearly everything else in Egypt is 



young by comparison. At a bound, we crossed 
a gulf that separates the days of Cheops from 
those of Unas — a chasm of a thousand years ! 
Like the philosopher who went into the desert 
to study the moods of nature, we descended into 
the grave and wrung therefrom its secrets. 

Memphis is so near Cairo that, had we not been prop- 
erly instructed, we should have deferred our visit until 
we had gone up the Nile — a serious mistake. 

An early morning-train from the new station car- 
ried us and a well-filled luncheon basket to Bedrashen, 
where we met the Sheik and engaged a donkey and 
driver at ten piastres (50 cents) for each member of the 
party. Mounting at once, we rode through planted fields 



no 



Disappointments of a Mummy 1 1 1 



to a village of 200 inhabitants on the site of ancient 
Memphis, — now only a series of narrow and dirty streets 
between mud walls. As late as the twelfth century, the 
thoroughfares of Memphis extended from Gizeh on the 
north, twelve miles to the Pyramids of Dashur on the 
south, and its population of 1,000,000 people occupied 
every foot of space between the Nile and the Lybian 
Desert. 

Two mammoth statues of Rameses II. were recumbent 
amid a clump of palm trees, — one of granite, 25 feet in 
length, and the other of limestone, originally 42 feet 
;tall. After traversing a series of palm groves, we 
reached the open country, and a mile across ploughed 
fields brought us to the sandy foothills of Sakkara. 

My mule had such an equable temper that I called him 
"Socrates." 

The ladies were particularly delighted with this don- 
key-ride, — the little animals were so gentle and tractable. 

"If the camel be the ship of the desert," said Mrs. 
Wentworth, stroking the neck of the faithful beast that 
carried her, "you are the cat-boat of this sandy waste." 

We spent that memorable day in underground graves. 
We rode and walked for hours through sand strewn with 
bits of alabaster, scales of blue-and-white glazed earthen- 
ware, and fragments of human skeletons. Everything 
that the broiling sun's heat could not destroy, had en- 
dured, — for rain hasn't fallen since the first stone of 
Memphis was put in place ! 

"I get you a skull?" asked one of the donkey-driv- 
ers. "Good remembrance of Sakkara." 



H2 The Destiny of Doris 



"No, indeed, my man," I replied, already feeling like 
a body-snatcher, as I trod upon the desecrated graves. 

We entered the elaborate tomb of Meri, containing 
thirty-one rooms. Its marble walls are covered with 
hieroglyphics, that recount the history and domestic life 
of the owner who was one of the independent kings of 
Memphis during the civil strife between Northern and 
Southern Egypt, before the end of the Vlth Dynasty 
(2000 B. C). The engravers' work is not equal to 
that found in the tomb of Ti, but the pictures are more 
numerous and of greater importance. 

Nothing more interesting than the tombs of this vast 
charnel-house exists in Egypt; for the colors look fresh 
and the pictures are resplendent with gilding. Especial- 
ly is this true of the mausoleum of Taki Tib, exhumed 
only a few days before our arrival. 

We entered the tombs of the Sacred Bulls, as every- 
body does : they are two minutes' walk from Mariettas 
house, — our halting-place for luncheon, — and consist of a 
series of twenty-four large chambers, excavated in the 
natural rock to the right and left of a wide passage-way, 
1,200 feet long. Each of these alcoves contains a sar- 
cophagus of polished black granite (thirteen feet in 
length, seven in width, and eleven in height), weighing 
sixty-five tons. Every coffin-lid has been raised ; for these 
tombs have been known a thousand years. All are in 
place except one, left with its story, amid the darkness 
of the corridor. 

Why was that stone coffin never put in place? Did a 
mutiny occur ? — a revolt against the deification of Bulls ? 
— was there a protest against a disgusting religious cere- 



BEDRASHEN, THE ARAB VILLAGE ON THE 
NILE, WHENCE THE TRIP TO MEMPHIS 
AND SAKKARA STARTS 



The Destiny of Doris 



monial ? To me that abandoned stone-box possessed sol- 
emn significance. 

Possibly Rameses II.. who created the tombs, became 
ashamed of bull-worship — adoration of a God that could 
die ! 

Doris lighted magnesium wire, with which she bril- 
liantly illuminated the last hall, and secured a photograph 
of the chamber containing the most highly-embellished 
sarcophagus. 

The nine Pyramids of the Sakkara group, though 
smaller than Cheops, are large enough to give any other 
country than Egypt an archaeological history. Egypt- 
ologists agree that the Step Pyramid is the oldest monu- 
ment in the world. It was finished seven hundred years 
before the Pyramids of Gizeh were begun. We rode to 
it through the bone-strewn wilderness, and descended a 
low, sloping, marble passage to its sepulchral chamber. 
Its picture-adorned walls are an open book to the arch- 
aeologist. The colors on them are bright and beautiful. 

Our candles disclosed on the ceiling an azure sky — a 
heaven in which stars of gold, cut as with a die and even- 
ly placed, ceaselessly passed the zenith of eternal night. 
As we gazed in silent, solemn wonderment, the long line 
of figures on the walls started into life and moved off to 
the same pace as the twinkling stars above ! 

Pliny knew what he was talking about when he spoke 
of "the dreadful silence of the desert." 

Worn out. dusty, and with minds overwhelmed with 
the weight of a dead world, we repassed the village on 
the site of ancient Memphis. There dwelt my donkey- 
driver, and. at his request, we made a detour to visit his 



DWELLING-HOUSES OF WEALTHY ARABS IN 
TOULON STREET, CAIRO; THE HAREM WIN- 
DOWS ARE OF CARVED WOODWORK 



n6 



The Destiny of Doris 



home. Mrs. Wentworth and Doris were especially anx- 
ious to see the family of our attendant. We were taken 
to a windowless mud-hut in the small court of a nar- 
row, filthy lane. Two wives and four children consti- 
tuted our man's share of earthly blessings. One of the 
women had just returned from a funeral. She was 
dressed in habiliments of deepest woe and her eyes were 
red with weeping. The Sheik of the village was dead ! 

Nothing could exceed the squalor of that hut. Its 
floor was of clay; a fire of nameless fuel smoldered in a 
corner, and the four copper-hued children, nearly naked, 
were playing in a heap of sand near the door. 

"Here my home," said the donkey-driver with pride, 
as he motioned us to enter. We all manifested a hesi- 
tancy which he noticed ; and, with a touch of pathos, he 
added : 

"I know America and France; was at Chicago six 
months, donkey-driver at World's Fair, made much 
money; at Paris for Exposition, made much money; 
this not like your home : but this my country. I happy 
here and not want go America or France — Egypt, for me, 
is best." 

His love of native land was sublime. 

We were sorry not to have had clothing to give the 
children, instead of money. The lower part of the 
women's faces was covered, but their dark eyes 
were bright and young, and the devotion shown to the 
head of the family was marked. 

We rode back to the station in moody contemplation 
of woman's condition in Egypt. As we neared the rail- 
way a freight train passed, and when the locomotive 



Disappointments of a Mummy 117 



whistled, my donkey began braying as if he'd met a rival 
worthy of his best efforts. 

Next day was given to the 
Gizeh Museum, where the se- 
crets of the graves we had seen 
at Sakkara and were to behold 
on the Upper Nile were on 
parade. There were assembled 
hundreds of mummies and de- 
spoiled sarcophagi. We stood 
cheek by jowl with Rameses 
II., mightiest of Egyptian 
kings, who dug the first Suez 
Canal ! A feeling of indescrib- 
able humiliation seized me as I 
gazed upon the features of this 
diplomatist, warrior, and des- 
pot. How he would have 
scorned the sympathy I felt for 
him in his present plight. Look 
at his solemn face ! Though a 
much older man than Caesar, 
the resemblance to the Naples 
bust of the great Roman is re- 
markable. I recalled the stela 
in the British Museum, found 
at Dekkeh, in Nubia, upon 
which is set down the valorous 
deeds of Rameses II. ; also the 

famous papyrus of Pentaour, upon which is immortal- 
ized his single-handed fight against overwhelming odds 




Mummy of King Rameses II. 



n8 



The Destiny of Doris 



in sight of his army and that of his foe under the walls 
of Kades. 

As he has declared at Karnak, this born master of 
men "fixed his "frontiers where he pleased." He carried 
fire and sword into Central Asia and Syria, taking by 
storm the strongholds of Ascalon and Jerusalem, if the 
pylon at Thebes be correctly read. 

"What profanation to stare at his shriveled face," said 
Mrs. Went worth with a shiver, as we stood in the imme- 
diate presence of the great ruler. 

"Hope of immortality was the cause of his embalm- 
ing," I explained. "Like Christians and Moslems, Ram- 
eses believed his soul would return, after long transmigra- 
tions, to his mummy-case, when, arising as from sleep, 
he'd take up his sceptre and be king again !" 

"Alas ! when this sleeper awakes, his halo of earthly 
glory will be hard to find," was the reply. "Even a 
mummy may have his disappointments." 

"But. we must remember that 'Rameses, King of Men,' - 
has waited only three thousand years for a realization of 
his religious dream," interposed Blake. "His belief has 
not been discredited ; for what are thirty centuries in the 
span of eternity?" 

As we left that repository of dead ambition, Doris said, 
with a sigh : 

"I missed poor Cleopatra most of all." 

"The splendid bronze image at the head of the main 
stairway, is believed to be hers," answered Mrs. Went- 
worth. 

"I couldn't confirm that," was Doris' reply. "I 
asked one of the savants of the Museum, who was taking 




GREAT MONOLITH AT HELIOPOLIS. ABOUT 25 
FEET IN THE GROUND, A WELL AND STAIR- 
WAY DESCENDS TO ITS BASE 

i -"• ■ 

I 



I 



120 



The Destiny of Doris 



luncheon with a mummy. He listened with authority, 
but observed a discreet silence." 

"Possibly he may have feared to disturb his compan- 
ion,'' rejoined her mother. 

Every man we met wore the fez. It is the great lev- 
eler, and reduces all ranks to democratic equality. The 
Khedive and the humblest official, the merchant and the 
street-vendor, the prince and the pauper alike wear the 
same head covering in sunshine and in rain. 

Perfunctory sight-seeing included a drive to Heliopolis 
and its mammoth obelisk. The monolith ought to be 
transported to the capital and set up in a public 
plaza ; because it is the largest known obelisk. Its base 
and twenty feet of the shaft are below the surface 
of the ground. Valuable records are probably concealed 
under that monument. 

What is called "the Virgin's Tree" was visited on 
the way back to Cairo. It is a gnarled and semi-decayed 
sycamore, cut and broken by tourists. According to 
tradition, this tree stands exactly on the site of the shade 
that sheltered Man- and the infant Saviour during a 
halt in the flight from Herod. Doris' photograph shows 
its present condition. Nearby is a well at which the 
Holy Family drank. 

The dervishes devote Friday to worship. At the Mos- 
que of the Dancing Dervishes we saw twelve fanatic 
priests go through their laborious service. All were fair- 
complexioned men and spotlessly clean in their long flow- 
ing white cotton robes and tall brown sugar-loaf hats. 
The holy dozen were seated on the floor of a circular en- 
closure. Service began with the chanting of a passage 



Disappointments of a Mummy 121 

from the Koran, intoned by an aged priest in a gallery. 
When this was finished, the worshipers rose and walked 
slowly round the circular arena, bowing to one another as 
they passed the kaba, or prayer niche. At a signal, young 
and old began to whirl, and continued the motion until 
they fell from exhaustion. These men seemed to be 




Virgin's Tree, Where the Holy Family Rested 



earnest, pious devotees. The same could hardly be said 
of the Howling Dervishes, — lower types of Mohamme- 
dans. Their devotions were treated with derision by 
many Arabs present. Services were held in a court- 
yard, where fifteen priests, squatting on dirty sheep-skins 
placed upon a platform, uttered howls and grunts simi- 
lar to those of over-fed swine. After a time, they stood 



122 



The Destiny of Doris 



up, and, led by one of their number noted for his endur- 
ance, threw their bodies forward until the fingers of 

their outstretched 
hands touched the 
floor, asthmatically 
wheezing the word 
"Hur ("He, i. e., 
God). The word 
soon loses all sem- 
blance of its original 
sound. 

The course of 
study at the Univer- 
sity of Cairo would 
have many attractions 
for American college 
boys who dislike the 
drudgery of recita- 
tions and class-room 
discipline. An Arab 
student presents him- 
self with a copy of 

Near Shepheard's Hotel, Cairo the Koran, a blanket, 

and a loaf of bread. 
A vacant place is assigned him on the floor-matting which 
becomes his dormitory while he stays. He studies when 
he pleases, then he sleeps or eats, after which he resumes 
the quest for learning. This is probably the oldest Uni- 
versity in the world. It was founded in 988 A. D. and 
was a thriving institution before Oxford opened its doors. 
We matriculated, by removing our shoes, and found 




Disappointments of a Mummy 123 



nearly 5,000 students, singly or in groups, engaged in 
study or meditation. 

"No warfare between Science and Religion exists 
here," whispered Doris to me. "I've been watching this 
man. He is pouring over a map of the United States, 
muttering meanwhile 'Allah ! Allah ! Nobody is greater 
than Allah !' " 




The Gay, but Short-lived Runners 



"Original research is unknown to the Arab," I ex- 
plained. "They are the mere recipients of knowledge 
that was antiquated when America was discovered. 
Their minds are thus occupied with utterly dead themes. 
Religion is the basis of all knowledge, and a year or two 
must be given to the Koran. The student then pro- 



124 The Destiny of Doris 



ceeds to study law, which is understood to be 'a com- 
prehension of the precepts of God in relation to the ac- 
tions of men, some of which it is our duty to perform, 
while others are permitted or peremptorily forbidden.' 
1 am quoting the definition of jurisprudence by the great- 
est of Arabic thinkers." 

"Let us find how much geography this man knows," 
and without further ado, Doris seated herself beside the 
student. When addressed, he replied courteously in 
French that he hailed from Mokhah, an Arabian city near 
the mouth of the Red Sea, and had been two years in the 
University. At our request, he located several of the 
large cities of North America ; but he was unacquainted 
with the history of his own people, and he lacked the en- 
thusiasm of a real student. 

"I have become attached to Egypt," said Doris, as we 
drove back to the hotel. 

"The land and the climate are delightful," commented 
her mother; ''but I cannot fall in love with the Arab. 
His vanity consumes him, — makes him morbid. Not 
content with putting women out of Heaven, he thinks 
earth was made for him alone, — lucky man !" 



FAMOUS STATUE OF FATHER NILE, WITH CROCODILE AND ICHNEUMON 



Chapter Ten 

Master of His Fate 

EGYPT is the Nile ; and the Nile is Egypt— it is 
a river of gold. 
"Of course we shall ascend the Nile," 
said Mrs. Wentworth, firmly. "To come 
to Egypt, and not get a correct idea of the wonderful 
river that gives the land its life-blood would be a journey 
without a purpose." 

"It is as easy to travel from here to Khartum as from 
New York to Denver," was Mr. Blake's comment. "I 
have been making inquiries and studying the time-tables. 
Trains now run daily to Assouan, over six hundred miles 
south, — the first-class, round-trip fare being only $25, 
sleeping-car, $4 additional. A military road takes you 
round the First Cataract to Shellal. Two days on a 
stern-wheel boat, with plenty to eat and comfortable 
staterooms, land you at Wadi Haifa. A train-de-lux, 
with sleeping- and dining-cars, conveys you in thirty 
hours to Khartum, at the junction of the Blue and 

i 2 5 



126 



The Destiny of Doris 



White Niles. The entire distance can be covered in five 
days." 

"Our plan should be to go up the river as far as Phike, 
opposite Shellal ; spend a day there, two at Assouan and 
Elephantine, and three at Luxor, Thebes, and Karnak," 
insisted Mrs. Wentworth. 

Preparations were soon completed. Nimble fingers 
prepared two traveling-suits of khaki for the ladies ; we 
men bought ours ready-made, and the second evening 
after the trip was planned our party occupied places on 
the train for Upper Egypt. One of the two staterooms 
had been secured for Mrs. Wentworth and her daughter. 

After night came on, I went into the smoking com- 
partment to enjoy a final cigar. I was soon followed 
by Mr. Blake. There was a constraint in his manner 
I had not noticed before. Though he lighted a cigar, he 
could not keep it afire, so preoccupied was he with his 
thoughts. Finally, he threw himself upon my gener- 
osity by saying: 

"My dear Mr. North, can you give me any hint of Mrs. 
Wentworth's feelings toward me ?" 

We looked into each other's eyes for a moment and I 
fear there was a slight chill in my voice, as I replied, 

"You mean Miss W r entworth's sentiments, I presume?" 

"I do not!" he rejoined, curtly. "That is her affair — 
and mine. But her mother is quite reserved toward me. 
This is a matter of such vital importance that I have 
ventured to ask you, not because I ought to, I suppose, 
but — well, I must know, that's all." 

"Yes, I understand the situation, and don't object to 
your inquiry," said I, hastening to relieve the young 



A CALM ON THE NILE, AT MINYEH ; BOATS 
LADEN WITH FRUIT, TIED UP ON WESTERN 
BANK, AT A PALM GROVE 



128 



The Destiny of Doris 



man's embarrassment. "I would help you, but I am not 
in the lady's confidence sufficiently to give you a posi- 
tive opinion. Why don't you go to Mrs. Went worth 
directly?" 

"1 knew you'd say that and I dislike to admit that I 
tried to have a serious talk with her, but failed. 

"Surely you can make an occasion?" 

"Apparently not; she avoids the subject, cleverly, — 
talks with a volubility quite unlike her at other times." 

"Why don't you break right into the conversation as 
with an axe ?" I blurted out. hardly comprehending what 
I was saying. "You have a right to know." 

In my own mind, I pardoned the abruptness of this lan- 
guage. Hadn't I lost the one woman who could have 
brightened my life, — thrown away my happiness, mere- 
ly by allowing the empty prestige of a family-name to in- 
tervene between us? Had I shown courage and deter- 
mination at the proper moment, Louise would have been 
mine. I knew that Doris was in love with Blake, and 
that settled the matter in my opinion. I was so antag- 
onistic to any policy of evasion that kept these two young 
people apart that I almost felt like counseling an elope- 
ment. But, in an effort to dissemble, I asked : 

"What do you expect Mrs. Wentworth to do? She 
cannot offer her daughter to a man who hasn't courage 
enough to demand her." 

"I tell you, she will not allow me to ask." 

"I assume you are assured of Miss Wentworth's feel- 
ings?" 

"That is another matter; and it concerns me — princi- 
pally." There was rebellion in his voice. 



Master of His Fate 



129 



"But, my dear sir, you have asked me to counsel you, 
and what is the use of going to a lawyer if you don't 
state your full case? However, I will say that I believe 
your assumption to be correct — though the young lady 
has not come to me for advice." 




A Caravan Crossing the Nile at Sobaz (Early Morning) 



I regretted my words after they were spoken. Man- 
fully did Blake resent the implication that he had vio- 
lated a confidence. 

"You are grossly unjust, sir," he almost shouted, 
amid the noise of the train. "I thought you could help 
me, but you take advantage of my position to rebuke 
me. You are wrong. My purpose in making the inquiry 
ought to have been obvious. Look at the facts : I am 



130 



The Destiny of Doris 



a member of Mrs. Wentworth's party, by mere courtesy. 
If by sufferance only, I have no right to continue the com- 
panionship : if my presence is undesired, I would like to 
feel sure of the fact. Isn't that justification enough for 
my appeal to you ?" 

By Osiris ! How my heart warmed toward that 
youngster ! He was the right sort. While he knew that 
his special plea did not deceive me in the slightest degree, 
he made it sturdily, as if he expected me to believe 
him. 

A man is taught more by failure than by success in af- 
fairs of love. I had weighed every reason for the loss 
of my cause with Louise, and traced it positively to one 
occasion in which I had tried to kiss her. I had not 
persisted. Instead of taking her by storm, as I should 
have done, I had affected an indifference that she assumed 
to be real. She never was the same thereafter, and finally 
ceased to care for me. 

While I was reviewing all these incidents of my life, 
Blake was talking. He employed more force than logic, 
and, by the impetuosity of his words, laid bare his hopes 
and ambitions in life. Although Doris' name was not 
mentioned, he admitted his determination to marry, with 
a confidence that could not be misunderstood. Tact- 
fully, he intimated that he had aimed to secure my respect 
because of a sincere hope that our relations might some- 
day become more closely identified. I affected not to un- 
derstand this suggestion that I marry Doris' mother. He 
had probably read love for Louise in my eyes, just as I 
had seen in his the ardor of his passion for Doris. 

The night-air grew cold, and we closed the shutters 



ATTITUDE OF SILENT PRAYER, IN THE MOSQUE, 
INTERRUPTED AT INTERVALS BY BOWING THE 
FOREHEAD TO THE FLOOR 



132 



The Destiny of Doris 



and windows, to exclude the sand and the chill ; but the 
impalpable dust, so intimately associated with the Afri- 
can desert, would find its way into a burglar-proof safe. 
It occasioned the only discomfort of an otherwise charm- 
ing trip. 

Blake's conversation awakened so many memories, that 
I did not reckon time. Sleep doesn't come when two men 
have a theme of mutual interest upon which they delight 
to hear themselves talk. 

My position as advisor to a youngster just half my 
age was novel and interesting. It was the first oppor- 
tunity I had ever enjoyed to impart, under the guise of 
generalities, my views of life, revised by keen experience 
and thoughtful observation. Here was a young man, 
with an assured fortune which he had only to safeguard. 
Marriage was a natural and desirable condition. I 
braced him up in every possible way. 

"The moment you are sure of the love of the woman 
you want to make your wife, marry," was my advice. 
"Don't temporize. Remember, 'La Donna e mobile' " — 
and I sang the first line of the aria. 

"Assuming that I am thus assured, how far should a 
prospective mother-in-law be allowed to affect the nat- 
ural course of events?" 

"The fifth commandment probably applies to mothers- 
in-law, actual or prospective. The mantle of charity 
enshrouds them. They should be honored; but when 
mutual love has declared itself between a man and a wo- 
man, entitled to wed, no power on earth should keep them 
apart. Wooing is not for laggards. It should be fierce 
and impetuous. A woman respects boldness in a man in 



Master of His Fate 



133 



the court of love. She who has to be won by a protracted 
seige is generally fickle, — at least uncertain of her own 
mind. It is dangerous to wed a girl who thinks she 
is the only woman in the world! She rates her charms 
so highly that she is ever-watchful for new students 
of the rare in beauty. Such a woman nearly always 
ends by taking pity on some other man than her hus- 
band, who tells her that the begetting of angels is a 
mystery of the skies and that she is a divine creation. 



She falls into the trap that her own vanity sets for her 
— rather, I should say, walks into it knowingly." 

"Surely, you would not have woman without vanity?" 
queried Blake. 

"No, indeed; nor man. Vanity alone saves mankind 
from hopeless despair. Think of a whole race rising 
every morning and contemplating itself with entire 
serenity. Looking into a mirror does away with care. 
The wise man will encourage true vanity in his wife — a 
desire to look better than any other woman, because 




The Same Plough Their Ancestors Used 



134 



The Destiny of Doris 



there is competition. It is not an easy task. He will 
dress her to the limit of his means. In no way can he 
better show his pride in her. He will never omit an op- 
portunity of displaying the delight he feels in her sweet 
companionship. Happy homes are not all made by 
wives." 

''Your enthusiasm imparts itself to me," exclaimed 
Blake. "Why did you never marry?" 

It was my turn to throw up my hood, cobra-like; but 
looking at Blake, I saw he meant to square accounts for 
what he fancied had been an impertinence on my 
part. Therefore, I retorted, 

"Because I was a fool. As the blind reckon back to the 
day they lost their sight, so do I date my return to 
reason from the hour my eyes were opened. I have had 
plenty of time to recognize the fact that instead of de- 
voting the best years of my life to building up my club, 
I might have created a home and been of use to other 
people. Now it may be too late for me, so I wave the 
danger-signal to you." 

"The Bard has said 'There is Yet in the word Here- 
after.' " 

"There's more sentiment than philosophy, more beauty 
than truth, in that bit of phrasing. Who can restore me 
the years that are gone? A practical philosophy de- 
clares that we have 'only one life to live ;' despite its 
tautology, that dictum contains the kernel of my theory 
of human existence." Rising to lower the shutters, I 
added, "Is the moon up?" 

"No, 'tis morning!" exclaimed Blake. 

A flood of daylight entered the car. Far eastward, 



THE PULPIT AND PRAYER NICHE IN THE CREAT 
MOSQUE, WHERE THE KHEDIVE COMES IN 
OCTOBER AND PERFORMS HIS DEVOTIONS 



136 



The Destiny of Doris 



the glorious sun, as only seen in Africa, was bristling 
like a golden porcupine over the tops of the Arabian 
Mountains. 

When I went into the small sitting-room at the end of 
the car, I found Miss Wentworth studying the vast pan- 
orama spread out before her on the western side of the 
train. 

"The people of this region were busy before daylight," 
she began. "I dressed and slipped in here to see the sun 
rise, and was well rewarded for my trouble. But I 
found the farmers ahead of me ; camels, oxen, men, and 
women were hard at work. Flocks of sheep and herds 
of cattle were browsing in the fields; the buffalo cows, 
with their inverted horns, small heads, and double- 
humped shoulders, were busy at the pumps. Artificial 
irrigation, planned on a stupendous scale, indicates the 
control that this thrifty race tries to exercise over the 
precious Nile-water." 

"It has been a problem with the Egyptian for five 
thousand years," was my comment, "but the English 
will solve it when they complete the series of dams on 
the UpperNile, now contemplated." 

Miss Wentworth looked more charming than usual in 
a sage-green khaki traveling gown. She was what Her- 
rick would have called "beauty in disorder," but pretty as 
one of Greuze's maidens, grown from a precocious co- 
quetry into the full possession of wit and sense. She 
was of that age in which a girl is always attractive. Ex- 
cusing myself, I returned to the compartment where I 
had left Blake. I found him intently watching the land- 
scape. 



Master of His Fate 



137 



"The place for you to study the beautiful in nature, is 
at the other end of this car," said I. "If I were you, 
I'd go there." 

Blake divined my meaning and disappeared. I 
stretched myself on the cushions and forgot the past and 
present. 




View of Girgeh, on the Nile, Where Much Foreign Capital is 
Invested 



In the next hundred miles, the course of the Nile, as 
it wandered aimlessly to and fro across the luxuriant 
valley, was marked by clumps of bananas and palms. 
Cliffs a thousand feet high defined the Arabian Moun- 
tains, and their water-worn sides indicated the majesty 
of the river in a geologic period antedating the oldest 
monuments of Egypt. Every inch of this valley, which 



138 The Destiny of Doris 

varies in width from two miles to ten, is a continuous 
village during seeding time and harvest. 

The first planting occurs as soon as the river subsides, 
leaving the flats coated with the reddish-brown sediment, 
which so enriches the soil, though its smell is sicken- 
ing to European nostrils. Farmers leave their homes 
on the sterile hill-sides and hurry into the damp valley 
to sow rye, wheat, and barley. Their families follow as 
soon as shelter from the sun by day and the cold winds 
by night can be prepared. There they remain until the 
crops are gathered ; then artificial irrigation begins and 
a second harvest occurs early in April. The small hand- 
sickle is the only implement used in the Xile Valley, 
though progressive farmers on the Delta now employ 
planting, cultivating, harvesting, and threshing machines. 
By May, the land is seamed with cracks made by the 
heat ; the air is hot as a furnace, and existence becomes 
intolerable. When the Nile rises, in the middle of June, 
all the mud huts and straw shelters melt into the sur- 
rounding plain. 

It is a country where the trees are leafless in summer 
and abloom in winter. 

During the afternoon's ride from Luxor to Assouan, 
a panorama of temples passed before us. At Esneh and 
Edfu were ruins that would be worth going to Egypt to 
see, did not those at Thebes, Euxor, Karnak, and Philae 
exist. At some points, the Arabian Mountains ap- 
proached the stream closely, entailing serious difficulties 
in the construction of the railway. The path had been 
blasted through the pinkish limestone, and thousands of 
tons of overhanging cliffs, which threatened to over- 




ARMED GUARD AT THE HAREM DOOR OF A 
WEALTHY ARAB'S DWELLING IN THE TOULON 
QUARTER OF THE EGYPTIAN CAPITAL 



The Destiny of Doris 



whelm the roadway, had been blown into the river with 
dynamite. Gorges were crossed on iron bridges, the rails 
clinging to the cliffs' sides directly over the Xile. At 
Xag Kaguk the steel line forsook the river-bank and 
struck boldly eastward, across nine miles of desert. A 
bad half hour! Despite the heat, windows had to be 
closed, because the sand was flying in clouds. 

Assouan, on the Nubian frontier, is a town of 5,000 
inhabitants, representing every African and European 
race. The modern section is hardly six years old, but 
it contains three large hotels and a fine Government 
building. Direct telegraphic communication exists with 
Cairo. The Arab quarter is behind a row of shops that 
overlook the river, and its narrow streets are roofed 
against the sun — for rain hasn't fallen there since the 
memory of man. Its bazaars are filled with wares from 
the farthest Soudan. The ethnological feature of this 
frontier-outpost is a camp of Bischareens, where those 
untamable children of the desert are kept under an un- 
suspected surveillance. Never saw I such contrasting 
facial hideousness and physical beauty. Many of the 
younger men might have served as models for the best ex- 
amples of Greek sculpture. This was the remnant of 
a large tribe, the other members of which had to be 
killed, much to the regret of the British commanders, 
because they would not surrender. 

The long narrow island of Elephantine, once the cap- 
ital of all Egypt, faces Assouan. 

After dinner, an English military -band played in a 
kiosk on the alameda, high above the Nile. The two 
young people walked on the esplanade under the stars. 



A LADY OF THE "SMART SET " 
IN CAIRO'S "150" TAKING TEA IN 
HER BOUDOIR 



142 



The Destiny of Doris 



Their increased interest in each other was unmistak- 
able. 

"What a glorious night !" exclaimed Doris. "Every 
hut and tree on Elephantine stands in bold relief against 
the sky." 

"It is bright enough to read by starlight." 

"Did you notice how the sun lingered over that ruined 
temple at the southern end of the island?" she asked. 

"Indeed, I did; it disappeared regretfully, — " 

" — but suddenly," interrupted Miss Wentworth, 
"Twilight is brief here, for the Tropic of Cancer crosses 
the river only a few miles up-stream. Listen! We are 
having a serenade from the river." 

"Yes, the frogs of Assouan are rendering the chorus 
from the comedy of Aristophanes : he was an Egyptian 
by adoption, you know," replied Blake, intending to fol- 
low with the college shout from "The Frogs" ; but Doris, 
quicker than he, gave it faultlessly : 

" 'Brekekekex ! Coax, Coax ! Brekekekex ! Coax, Coax !' " 

"Alas ! only the noisy frogs remain in what was once 
true elephant-land," she continued. "Here the pachy- 
derm was hunted for his skin and ivory. These frogs 
are 'descended from royal amphibian ancestry,' but they 
do not replace the artful crocodile and the guileless ele- 
phant." 

"I suppose the crocodiles have been killed and made 
up into wallets," said Blake. 

"I wonder who buys them?" said Doris. "I don't 
any more, because they always crawl out my pocket and 
lose themselves." 



A WARM DAY AT ASSOUAN, NEAR 
THE FIRST CATARACT (A STUDY 
IN WHITE LIGHTS) 



144 



The Destiny of Doris 



''I sadly miss the saurian of the Nile," said Blake. "I 
expected to find him here. We have the alligator in Flor- 
ida. The crocodile and his enemy, the ichneumon, are 
associated with this river. Another myth, I suppose !" 

"The island is real enough to check disillusionment," 
commented Doris. "Here was the key to Nubia, — a 
city of a million people. The roar of the First Cataract 
rang in the ears of countless warriors who guarded this 
defile. Every one of the sixty centuries in its history 
had its temples and its altars — " 

"I say, Miss Wentworth, don't you think we've had a 
deal too much of antiquity during the past week?" 
Blake began, courageously. 

But when Doris turned to look at him, he stammered, 
"The present is so satisfactory, I mean, that we might 
at least consider it." 

"In Egypt the past is always the present," replied 
Doris, after the manner of an oracle. "I shall like Nu- 
bia, because it is the land that kept its secret longest." 

"Yes, I understand ; and I am thoroughly in sym- 
pathy with your fancies, but I'd like to sit down and 
talk to you about — about ourselves, for instance." Blake 
had profited by my advice. 

"I haven't the faintest idea what I could say about 
myself," added Doris, with provoking naivete, "except 
that I shouldn't care to study Egyptology here in sum- 
mer, pleasant as the weather is now." 

She seated herself on a bench overlooking the mysteri- 
ous, silent river. 

"I wouldn't mind the season, if we studied it under 
the same conditions," said Blake. "I haven't been able 



146 



The Destiny of Doris 



to concentrate my thoughts on anything but you, 
since — " 

"How curious !" she mused, half-banteringly and with 
a hearty laugh ; but finding that Blake, seating himself 
beside her, attempted to place his arm round her waist, 
Doris affected coyness and rose precipitately, as if to re- 
turn to the hotel. 

Vernon Blake had become a man of definite purpose. 
He was sure of his own heart, and he felt the moment 
had come to learn his fate. Therefore he slipped his 
arm resolutely in hers and led her back to where they 
had been seated, saying abruptly, 

''Oh, Doris, you must listen! Don't you know, can't 
you see, that to travel in this strange land with you 
makes me infinitely happy?" 

"Perhaps it's the romantic surroundings, Mr. Blake? 
This place is so weirdly beautiful." 

They were in the pretty parklet on the banks of the 
Nile. Palm trees cast broad shadows over them. 

"Not at all : you have inspired this joy in my heart — 
a sweet tender dream, from which I never want to 
awaken. Doris, I love you !" 

"I have had a suspicion of the fact, Mr. Blake," she 
replied, with an assumed calmness, as she turned her 
girlish face toward his, telling him her love with her 
eyes in language more fervent than speech. Blake seized 
her trembling hands : 

"I have come six thousand miles, Doris, to ask you to 
be my wife." 

In another instant, shielded chiefly by the impetuous 
ardor of his act, Vernon Blake had taken her in his 



Master of His Fate 147 

arms and kissed her! And she, though endowed 
with the strength of an athlete, gloried in the tradi- 
tional weakness of her sex which excused acquiescence. 
The stars alone saw; and if any ears heard, the words 
that were uttered conveyed no meaning. 




Group of Dancing Dervishes at Cairo 



Doris fled precipitately across the alameda into the 
hotel and to her room. There Mrs. Wentworth found 
her in an ecstacy of joy. 

Blake's address that night was Elysium. 



MR. NORTH AND TWO SOUDANESE ON A TRAM-CAR, AT THE GREAT DAM 



Chapter Eleven 

On the Sacred Isle 

fC XMSHI! Gladstone!" 

"Basta! McKinley!" 
JL Donkey-boys and dragomen congregated in 
front of the hotel as soon as the sun was up, 
and engaged in a general row. They waited with impa- 
tience for us to breakfast ; afterward, wearing our 
cork helmets, we mounted and took a temporary leave of 
Egypt. 

The broad road to the First Cataract leads through a 
series of graveyards. Hundreds of natives were met, 
hurrying from their huts among the hills to Assouan, 
where they found employment at honest labor or beg- 
ging. The scene recalled Gibraltar and the drove of 
Spanish workmen crossing the Neutral Ground. 

Above the First Cataract is the great Nile dam, a mile 
and a quarter long, which places a wall 100 feet high be- 
tween the lower river and its vast Central African wa- 
tershed. A reservoir will be created of a hundred 

148 



On the Sacred Isle 149 



square miles, wherein will be retained the water 
for use as needed in the valley between Assouan and 
Cairo. Heretofore, the Nile ran aflood for three months. 
All the resources of the watershed were exhausted, and 
the arable land was saved from utter drought only by 
artificial irrigation, — the water pumped from the river. 
The barrage is constructed of the red Assouan granite, 
taken from two hundred quarries. Eighty sluices enable 
the engineers to regulate the flow of the Nile to the 
nicety of a gallon. "Water and prosperity go hand in 
hand," is an Egyptian maxim. This great undertaking 
furnished work for 
15,000 natives for 
four years, and its 
final cost will ex- 
c e e d $10,000,000 ; 
but the money will 
have been well 
spent, because a 
very large "flood- 
crop area" in Up- 
per Egypt will be 
endowed with per- 
ennial water, and a 
third crop will be 
added to m o s t of 
the Nile Valley ! 
Lord Milner esti- 
mates the direct 

gain in increased land-tax at $1,900,000 a year, and 
that the value of reclaimed Government lands will be 




An Egyptian Beauty, Seeing Life on thi 
Nubian Frontier 



The Destiny of Doris 



augmented by $5,000,000. Not only will the entire 
agricultural system of Egypt be revolutionized, but 
the use of machinery will become imperative if three 
crops are to be planted, grown, and harvested an- 
nually. The forked-stick plow and the hand-sickle 
must give way to the most improved modern imple- 
ments. The scheme has been financed in such a man- 
ner that the Egyptian Government has thirty years in 
which to pay for the work. 

England will do for Egypt more than she has done 
for India ! Another dam will be constructed above the 
Second Cataract, at Wadi Haifa, creating an additional 
storage-reservoir. Not a gallon of Nile water will es- 
cape without rendering service to Egypt! 

After we had watched the native boys diving and 
swimming the rapids, we compared opinions. 

"What do you think of the Cataract?" Airs. Went- 
worth was asked. 

"Reminds me of the Mohawk at Eittle Falls," she an- 
swered. 

"Lucian, the Greek Gulliver, misled posterity by de- 
scribing this rapid as an area of awe-inspiring whirlpools 
and cataracts," volunteered Mr. Blake. "He was an apt 
pupil of Homer." 

Doris took some photographs. Afterward, we set out, 
in the torrid heat, for Philse. The road soon passed into 
a weird and spooky region. Great white boulders, piled 
in cairns twenty to forty feet high, were stained black in 
spots as by the hands of man. The ladies suffered dur- 
ing that brief journey over the burning-hot sands. The 
mule-drivers were barefoot. 



On the Sacred Isle 151 



"I'm sorry for my poor donkey-boy," said Doris, sym- 
pathetically. 

"That he business," rejoined the dragoman, curtly. 
The boy trotted on, panting like a howling dervish, un- 
conscious of his gentle mistress' solicitude. The Arab 
is kind to animals, because so enjoined by the Koran. 
His fellow-man he cares nothing about. 




Western Channel of the First Cataract, Above the Great Barrage 



After a stay in Africa, one could write a book on the 
donkey and his driver. They are the real workers in the 
land. 

Shellal is a nest of mud huts, huddled in the sand un- 
der a clump of palms. It was a busy place that day, 
because two boats had arrived from Wadi Haifa. Across 



15 2 The Destiny of Doris 



the narrow arm of the river, the Sacred Isle was plainly 
visible. 

Philae is the pearl of the Xile ! Xot so large as a 
city block, the island contains more of the history of 
Egypt than can be found elsewhere between the Medi- 
terranean and the Victoria Lake. Every age, beginning 
with the IVth Dynasty ( 3000 B. C), and ending with the 
Roman Occupation, has left its stamp. The ancient 
Egyptian who wished to take an oath that would bind 
him and his soul for eternity, always swore "By Him 
who sleeps in Philae!'' The modern Arabs attach in- 
terest to the island as the scene of a famous tale in "The 
Thousand and One Nights," — extending from the 371st 
to the 380th nights, the Burton Edition. Therein is 
recounted the gratitude of a crocodile and a dove for 
the kindness shown the animal kingdom by the lover of 
a princess immured in this Temple of Isis. 

We hired a boat and crossed the rapid stream to the 
Sacred Isle. Doris and I climbed a flight of steps from 
the riverside to the Kiosk, — the chief decorative feature 
of the island, though its lily-shaped capitals date only 
from Trajan's day. 

" 'This is the most perfect structure we shall see on 
the Nile," I read aloud to Doris from the guide book, 
"and stands to-day just as it was left, uncompleted. Here 
the Romans took their tea.' " 

When Mrs. Wentworth and Blake joined us, we fol- 
lowed a path through the gate of Philadelphus and 
emerged before the first pylon of the Temple of Isis, 
familiar to every student of antiquity. This sacred build- 
ing antedated the introduction of the arch ; its massive 



SACRED ISLE OF PHIL^E; ITS RUINS SUMMARIZE THE 
HISTORY OF EGYPT. TEMPLE OF ISIS IN THE FORE- 
GROUND, THE KIOSK ON THE RIGHT 



154 



The Destiny of Doris 



square doors have no rivals, except at Karnak. Enter- 
ing the fore-court, we passed up a slight ascent to the 
door of the second pylon and into the Hypostyle Hall, 
the most perfectly preserved ruin in Egypt. Here the 
: clock of time has stopped ! The paint on the decorated 
ceiling is as fresh as if penciled yesterday. The lotus- 
shaped capitals of its columns, which we seem to have 
known since childhood, are aglow with the brightest 
pigments. A clever hand wrought these wonders of 
stonework. By exaggerating the length of the capitals 
and giving the columns excessive girth, the wily architect 
deceived the eye as to the height of the apartment. 
Without these artifices, the room would have appeared 
crowded with these huge columns, and the ceiling, formed 
of immense slabs of cut stone, would have made the air 
heavy with its weight. 

"How does this temple impress you?" I asked, turn- 
ing to the ladies of our party. 

"I am overcome with the grandeur of this hall," Mrs. 
Wentworth found voice to say. "How sad that the name 
of the Michael Angelo of Philse should have been lost 
to posterity !" 

"The tender half-tones of the Alhambra, which aroused 
so much enthusiasm in me, must be forgotten when 
looking at the coral-pinks, Nile-greens, and turquois-blues 
I find here," said Doris, a tone of regret in her voice. 

"These walls contain hundreds of square yards of 
hieroglyphic inscriptions, colored pictures, and bas re- 
liefs," said Mr. Blake, who had been exploring the re- 
cesses of the temple on his own account. "Here the 
chronology of a dead religion and an absolutely extinct 



On the Sacred Isle 155 



civilization ! Like the Rosetta Stone, found near Alex- 
andria, here is the key to the cuneiform and hieroglyphic 
inscriptions of Egypt. This temple is a diary of the 
past twenty-five centuries, for the hieroglyphics are sup- 
plemented by Greek and Roman inscriptions. The 
French add a record of the visit of a portion of Marshal 




Shellal, as Seen from Philae ; a Wretched Arab Village, Ter- 
minus of the Military Railway, and Starting-point 
by Boat for Wadi Halfa 



Desaix's army, — the immortal Desaix, killed at Marengo 
after he regained a battle that was lost." 

Where nobody comes to-day to worship, the altars of 
Isis stood ready for service at an appointed hour. We 
assembled in the inner sanctuary, about the sacrificial 
stone, that, in the half-darkness, looked moist with the 
blood of victims. 



156 The Destiny of Doris 



"When Egypt was Christianized (400 A. D.), the 
edict of Theodosius of Constantinople was ignored at 
Philae," began Doris, who had informed herself upon the 
history of the place. "Though forbidden, under the pain 
of death, to perform the sacred rites, priests of Isis and 
Osiris walked these stately halls and offered their sacri- 
fices until the hand of the conqueror smote them. Many 
died around this altar ; others were thrown to the croco- 
diles, with which the river then swarmed; temples were 
plundered, statues and obelisks were destroyed, and pic- 
tures on these walls were often wantonly defaced. The 
same spirit of intolerance was shown that we shall see 
in Rome. For centuries Philae was overrun by all 
classes of religious fanatics; beautiful structures of an- 
tiquity were demolished to make room for adobe sanc- 
tuaries. A mud chapel was actually erected on the roof 
of this very temple ! Philse ceased to be Christian dur- 
ing the Middle Ages, and despoilment ended." 

"Mahomet has supplanted the ancient gods," I said, 
when we had returned to the Hypostyle Hall ; for the 
Arab custodian of the temple that moment piously pros- 
trated himself, facing the northeast (the direction of 
Mecca), and bent his forehead in humility to the pave- 
ment. His was a prayer to the God of Moses and Ma- 
homet. By that act, he repudiated the worship of beasts 
and stone ! 

"Great is Allah!" murmured our dragoman, with the 
utmost reverence. 

From the stone roof of the Temple of Isis, Doris took 
a photograph of the village of Shellal, across the Nile. 
We strolled through an avenue of columns to an obe- 




MR. NORTH AT THE GATEWAY OF THE FIRST PYLON, 
TEMPLE OF ISIS, ATTENDED BY HIS DRAGOMAN AND 
THE ARAB GUARDIAN OF PHILyE 



158 



The Destiny of Doris 



lisk, at the ^southern end of the island, and looked up 
the river toward Wadi Haifa. 

The Arab guardian of Philse, white-robed, as his re- 
ligion commanded, bade us adieu at the temple-gate, 
received his fee, and sought his solitary abode under a 
corner of the sanctuary. At night, he is the only living 
creature on the island. There he has spent thirty years, 
— a good Mohammedan, and in contemptuous ignorance 
of the ancient Egyptian religions. 

"Memory is the food of life," said Mrs. Wentworth, 




Second Pylon, Temfle of Isis, Philab 



as our boat pushed off from the shore. "I shall live 
upon this day's recollections for months." 

" 'By Him who sleeps in Philae ;' so shall I." 




GRANDEST GROUP OF RUINS ON EARTH : THE TEMPLE AT LUXOR 



Chapter Twelve 

In a Temple Bazaar 

AT Assouan, we missed the flowers and the ver- 
dure that make Lower Egypt a land of de- 
light to the eye. Not a blossoming plant 
exists. The air is too dry, and the 
heat of the day too torrid. Dates are the only fruit; 
oranges are brought from the orchards in the Delta. 

A surprising change of temperature occurs after dark ; 
the intolerable heat of the ride to Philse was succeeded 
after our return by a fall in the thermometer of 22 de- 
grees. I slept under double blankets. 

Awakened by the shouts of water-carriers filling their 
pigskins in the river, Doris opened her window and 
gazed across the placid Nile to the sun-lighted shores of 
Elephantine. With her camera, she preserved the scene. 
Seven o'clock had struck, the orb of day was ablaze, and 
the town was astir with human life. 

After breakfast, a boat carried us to the Elephant Isl- 
and, once the treasure-house where was hoarded the 

159 



i6o 



The Destiny of Doris 



ivory brought from the Upper Nile. Here was the 
metropolis of Egypt during the Vlth Dynasty. Its pots- 
herds gave to Egyptologists the details of the Greek and 
Roman Occupations. Its tablets have served as glos- 
saries for all the languages of Upper Egypt. A roll 
containing parts of Book XVIII of the Iliad, discov- 
ered on this island, is in the Louvre at Paris, and the 
British Museum has been enriched by its treasures. 

Two wretched villages, in which only the languages 
of Nubia are spoken, remain of what was once a great 
city. Across the main branch of the Nile the eternal 
sands of the Lybian Desert come to the water's edge. 

Leaving Elephantine at a quay built by the Romans, 
we hurried to Assouan, caught a train for Luxor, and in 
six hours were comfortably installed at the real temple- 
bazaar of Egypt. Our minds were still busy w'ith the 
wonders of Philse; but Luxor, Karnak, and Thebes all 
in a group never can suffer by comparison with any other 
ruins. 

"How incredible that we are actually here," mused Mrs. 
Wentworth, as we sat taking our coffee next morning 
under a bower of orchids, hedged by a row of palms. 
"The railway has made Luxor quite accessible to New 
York. This place has always seemed so far away — so 
much imagination and so little fact — that I have even 
doubted the photographs of these stupendous temples." 

"The camera has not exaggerated," commented Mr. 
Blake. "I rose early and walked to the Temple of 
Luxor, less than half a mile from where we sit. I as- 
sure you, your wildest expectations will be realized." 



ISLAND OF ELEPHANTINE, ONCE SITE OF A 
MIGHTY CITY. TAKEN BY DORIS FROM HER 
HOTEL WINDOW AT EARLY MORNING 



l62 



The Destiny of Doris 



Whole libraries have been written on the grandeur of 
the Egyptian remains in this part of the Nile Valley. 

All the ruins within donkey-ride of Luxor can be seen 
in two or three days ; but to have explored old Thebes 
must have required as much time as would be needed 
to examine modern London. Like the British capital, 
Thebes was built on two sides of a river. The circum- 
ference of its walls must have exceeded fifty miles. 
Homer thus refers to its size: 

"The hundred-gated Thebes, where twice ten score in 
martial state 

Of valiant men with steeds and cars march through each 
massy gate." 

Thebes had half a million dwelling-houses and vast 
public squares about its palaces. Long vistas of mam- 
moth sphinxes formed the approaches of its temples, 
Whether Thebes was Karnak or Karnak Thebes, or 
whether these names were given to the same great city 
at different stages of its history, is unimportant when 
you visit them. Thebes represents the resplendent mid- 
dle-period of Egyptian art. Everything antedating its 
transcendant supremacy led up to Thebes, and its de- 
cadence marked the decline of all Egypt, under count- 
less "occupations," until the recent hour in which Eng- 
land undertook the task of its redemption. "Thebes" 
is a word that represents the culmination of everything 
Egyptian — a satisfaction-piece for the mortgage that 
the Pyramids issue upon the credulity of the visitor to 
Egypt. Its art, unlike any other ; its architecture, gigan- 




GRANDEST ARCHITECTURAL WONDER OF THE 
WORLD — THE KARNAK GATEWAY; WITH ITS 
RECORDS OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT 



1 64 



The Destiny of Doris 



tic to the verge of a nightmare, and at variance with 
every rule of Greece and Rome; reaches its sublimity at 
Thebes, — speaking of Karnak. as part of Thebes, whether 
historically correct or not. We study art by the mile at 
Versailles. At Thebes, we delve into architecture of 
such mammoth proportions as to overcome the senses 
and cause a human atom to sigh for the thousand eyes 
of those prehistoric creatures provided with visual or- 
gans far in excess of their opportunities. Only Egypt- 
ologists have full license to describe this sacred grove 
where deity was enthroned as nowhere else — where 
many gods did walk ! Writers who essay this theme 
should be men who have consecrated their lives to a 
study of every phase of the human heart — lost am- 
bition, dead hope, patience that endured, courage that 
never wavered, hardship that chilled the blood, cruelty 
indescribable, and religion attaining the sublimest ideals 
of fanatic beauty. 

To understand the lay of the land, Luxor must be 
regarded as a composite whole, which includes Karnak 
and Thebes. Luxor is the name of the modern town, and 
a radius of three miles, struck from its principal hotel, in- 
cludes all places of interest on both sides of the Nile. 
Inscribe a circle and draw a waved line through it, 
slightly to the left of the center, to represent the Nile. 
Then locate the monuments. On the right bank looms 
the Temple of Luxor, and to the north are the stupend- 
ous ruins called Karnak. Between and far beyond these 
monuments once stretched the streets of ancient Thebes. 
On the west bank are the mortuary temples and the Ne- 
cropolis, or rock-hewn Campo-Santo. On the moun- 



In a Temple Bazaar 165 



tain-side are the despoiled Tombs of the Kings, and in 
the valley sit the lonely Colossi of Memnon. 

Nothing that the human hand has ever fashioned ex- 
actly equals the Great Hall at Karnak. Examples 
might be cited that 
are more finitely ex- 
quisite, — such as the 
Taj at Agra, the Par- 
thenon at Athens, 
Notre Dame de 
Paris ; the Cathedral 
at Milan, the Alham- 
bra at Granada or the 
Pantheon at Rome ; 
but the Hall of Pil- 
lars is more imposing 
than any or all of 
these. Tested as to 
its immensity ; the 
bold lines in which it 
was cast; the courage 
with which it was 
conceived, and the 
vastness of detail 
with which its plans 
were executed, the 

Pyramids, Colosseum, and St. Peters are dwarfed into in- 
significance ! The doorway, still standing, is the first 
wonder of the ancient world — no matter who names the 
other six. Who raised its lintel-stone? What system of 
physics enabled the builder to set those capitals? A 




Married Woman of Luxor ; Met 
Among the Shops 



1 66 The Destiny of Doris 



famous Egyptologist truly said, in speaking of his emo- 
tions on entering that corridor of majestic columns: — 
"I have shrunk to the feebleness of a fly !" 

We gave the second day to the western bank of the 
river and its three groups of ruins, — Goornah, opposite 
Karnak ; the Rameseum, almost facing Luxor, and Medi- 
net-Haboo, a mile south of the Colossi, which Herodotus 
so accurately described ! Then we climbed the base of 
the Lybian hills to the Theban Necropolis, and, behind a 
spur of sandstone cliff, sought out the Tombs of the 
Kings. The best guide book for that jaunt is Ebers' 
"Uarda," the author having lived in one of those tombs ! 

Taking our luncheon in the shadow of the towering 
Colossi, the conversation assumed a thoroughly modern 
vein. 

""This is the scarabaei market of Egypt," I remarked. 
"Who has bought any?" 

"Not I," answered Mrs. Wentworth, promptly. "I 
prefer to get mine at the Gizeh Museum, even if they are 
more costly." 

"I have secured a rare specimen for my old friend 
Colonel Corkins, of Ohio;" was my confession. "He 
divides his time between Congressional duty and ento- 
mology. When I send him this stone beetle with four 
eyes and six ridges down its back, he will be happy for 
a week classifying it. He is a monomaniac on beetles ! 
A rival once defeated a pet bill of his by asking him to 
leave the House at a critical moment to see a bug with 
two tails." 

"'Who is this Colonel Corkins?" asked Mrs. Went- 




THE COLOSSI: FIGURES FOR THE PYLON OF A MAMMOTH 
TEMPLE; ROCK-HEWN TOMBS ON THE FACE OF THE 
CLIFFS; SCENE OF EBERS' " UARDA" 



The Destiny of Doris 



worth in all seriousness. "I don't seem to recall his 
name." 

''There is but one like him anywhere," I replied; "he 
is an example of the oddities to be found only at Wash- 
ington." 

"Speaking- of scarabaei, the neatest things I have seen 
are the beetle paper-weights," said Blake. "I have se- 
cured an assortment. They are the only decorative 
trophies I have found." 

"Exactly my experience," commented Doris. "Isn't 
it strange that Luxor doesn't produce something that 
visitors can take home?" 

"Not at all," explained her mother. "The present 
Luxorians have fifty centuries of a Past to which they 
can 'point with pride' — and that's considerable capital. 
Those old temples bring more profits into town than all 
the sugar refineries and silk mills along the Nile. These 
people couldn't have had a better advance-agent than 
Rameses II." 

"We hear of a few other kings, it is true," said Blake, 
"but Rameses II. still has the call. He is the central fig- 
ure of Egyptian history. As Sesostris, all the brave 
deeds of three centuries of other heroes were ascribed to 
him." 

We were all silent, our imaginations busy with the 
mental picture of Rameses trying to fit halos on his brow. 

"I am sure that wasn't his fault," urged Doris, coming 
to the defense of the King of Kings, "for we saw the 
story of his life from childhood to the grave portrayed 
on the towers of Luxor. Can you ever forget the pag- 



In a Temple Bazaar 169 



eantry of that triumphal 
tory ?" 

"The pictures were a 
panorama of death," 
commented Mrs. Went- 
worth. "Carnage on all 
sides ; the foe always flee- 
ing, without hope of 
q u a r t e r, — for the 'Be- 
loved of Amnion' was 
above human laws and 
knew not mercy." 

"Were I Khedive of 
Egypt," exclaimed Blake, 
with enthusiasm, "I'd 
give old Rameses II. the 
loftiest monument the 
world has ever known. 
Instead of exposing h i s 
grinning cadaver to pub- 
lic gaze, I'd swing the 
Pyramids into a square 
and build them higher 
than the clouds of 
heaven, to do honor to his 
name." 

Our stay at Luxor 
lengthened into four 
days, every hour of which 
will always be memorable, 
eral times and to the river's 



return after a glorious vic- 




Daughter of the Shiek of Modern 
Memphis; Sakkara in Back- 
ground 



We went to the temple sev- 
bank, whence we could study 



170 



The Destiny of Doris 



the plain on the other shore, so admirably shown in my 
view of the marvelous Colossi. At the hotel, we break- 
fasted under the trees, and, excepting on the day of the 
Thebes-trip, rested in-doors during the noon-time heat. 

"I couldn't get into my Gladstone bag this morning," 
said Doris. "I had forgotten the combination." 
"What are you talking about?" queried her mother. 
"I didn't take my keys on the long donkey ride to the 
Tombs of the Kings yesterday," was the reply. "I locked 
the bag, put the key in a bureau drawer, locked the bu- 
reau and hid its key on the top shelf of the wardrobe; 
locked the wardrobe and put its key where I cannot find 
it. If I could remember, I'd be all right. Can it be that 
this African sun is affecting my head ?" 

"What is that key on the string of Bisharin beads about 
your neck?" asked Blake. 

"Ah! It's the key to the combination," said Doris, 
laughing. 

While in Cairo, I had applied to the Egyptian Govern- 
ment for permission to traverse the recently completed 
Military Railway across the Nubian Desert, from Wadi 
Haifa to the neighborhood of Khartum. Many days 
passed, however, and the formalities were unsettled when 
the hour arrived for our departure on the Nile-journey. 
I could not consent to delay, but directed that my mail 
be forwarded to Luxor. 

To my joy, the fourth day's post brought me the cov- 
eted permit for the Sou dan- journey. I was aware that 
the document might not be demanded, but other travelers 
had been turned back at Wadi Haifa, and I did not care 



THE AVENUE OF COLUMNS AT KARNAK, SHOW 
ING FALLING PILLAR. WHICH WEALTHY AR 
CH^EOLOGIST WILL REPLACE IT? 



172 



The Destiny of Doris 



to lose time. The fare exacted is sufficiently prohibitive 
to prevent triflers from going to Khartum. 

I had less than an hour to catch the train for Assouan, 
but I took it. Acting on my advice, Mrs. Wentworth, 
her daughter, and Mr. Blake engaged passage to Cairo 
on a Nile-steamer, leaving next day. It would proceed 
leisurely, stopping en route at several places of interest. 
Thus we separated for ten days. 

The ladies were traveling light. Heavy luggage had 
been left at Cairo during the Nubian invasion. When 
Mrs. Wentworth entered a carriage to drive to the Nile- 
boat, a young man approached. He bowed officiously, 
and said, 

"Bon voyage, Madame !" 

She thanked the stranger, though there was a tone in 
his voice that annoyed her. 

"What does this fellow want?" she asked Doris, as 
her daughter appeared. 

Unabashed, the attendant repeated his good wishes, 
and when Doris stared at him, he added, 

"I had the honor of preparing madame's bill." 

Immunity from further annoyance was purchased with 
a few piastres. Though the stay had been brief, the 
candidates for "tips" were many. The chambermaid, 
hall-boy, cook, table-waiter, head waiter, interpreter, a 
porter who had carried the luggage up-stairs, another 
who brought it down, and a third who placed it in the 
carriage expected and received small amounts. 

" 'It is more blessed to give than to receive,' and I 
am only heeding the precept," said Doris, in answer to 
her mother's protests. 



GROUP OF DANCING GIRLS THAT ENTERTAINED THE 
WENTWORTH PARTY IN THE HOTEL AT LUXOR ; THEY 
KNEW THE ENGLISH WORD "MONEY" 



GLIMPSE OF THE KIOSK AT PHILffi, FROM A NILE- BOAT AT SHELLAL 



Chapter Thirteen 

Under the Southern Cross 

THE reconquest of the Soudan by the Sirdar, 
Sir Herbert (now Lord) Kitchener, was 
rendered possible by the firm hold main- 
tained by the Egyptians on Wadi 
Haifa, — a military station on the Nile at the Second 
Cataract. The Italians precipitated that conflict. Hard 
pressed by the Abysinnians, and the dervishes having be- 
gun an agitation at Kassala which seriously threatened 
their line of communication with the Red Sea at Mas- 
sawa, Italy, in this dilemma, appealed to the British 
Government to make a demonstration south of Haifa 
to relieve this menace. The movement, at once under- 
taken, soon developed into a project for the reoccupa- 
tion of Dongola by the Anglo-Egyptian forces. Before 
many months, the conflict was seen to involve the recon- 
quest of Khartum. 

A two-years' campaign — necessarily in the hot season, 
because the Nile is then in flood, and involving terrible 
hardships on the native as well as on the British troops, 

174 



Under the Southern Cross 175 



who finally had to be brought into the conflict — re- 
sulted in regaining all the ground in the Soudan that had 
been lost to Egypt by the series of disasters beginning 
with the obliteration of Hicks Pasha's army, and the death 
of Gordon. The occupation of Dongola, the capture 
of Abu Hamed and of Berber, and the great battle near 
the mouth of the Atbara (April 7, 1898) are occur- 
rences too recent to need further reference. As the 
troops advanced, the railway was laid behind them, and 




Two Tired Companions, Who Made the Trip From Assouan to 
Shellal with Mr. North 

gunboats were hauled through the rapids. Civilization 
and conquest went hand in hand. The terrible Nubian 
desert between Wadi Haifa and Abu Hamed — recalled 



1 7 6 



The Destiny of Doris 



by persons familiar with the map as the point at which 
the river makes a long detour to the westward — was 
finally crossed by 227 miles of steel rails, which had been 
laid upon iron ties — placed in the sand — and bolted to- 
gether in such a way as to provide for expansion in 
daylight and for contraction at night. Thence the road 
was pushed south, mile by mile, until its terminus came 
in sight of the Mahdi's capital, at the confluence of the 
Blue and White Xiles. 

"When informed that a permit had been granted to me 
to travel on the Military Railway across the Nubian Des- 
ert, I took hasty leave of my friends at Luxor, promis- 
ing to rejoin them at Cairo. Doubling on my track to 
Assouan, I reached there at dark, and ascertained that 
a steamer sailed for Wadi Haifa the following morning. 
I was, accordingly, in the saddle at daybreak, and rode 
seven miles round the First Cataract to Shellal before 
the heat became excessive, boarded the boat, and se- 
cured a comfortable stateroom. I never had expected 
to see Philae again ; but, seated on deck awaiting the hour 
of departure, I once more beheld, across the narrow arm 
of the river, the beautiful kiosk, and the sombre pylon of 
the Temple of Isis ! 

Steaming past the Island of Philse, we soon entered the 
main stream of the river, about the width of the Con- 
necticut at Middletown. The cliffs were of granite, but 
the scenery soon grew less wild, and verdure appeared 
along the banks. Massive ruins rose from time to time 
on both sides of the Nile, but I had little desire to see 
anything more of that character until Abu Simble. 

A fine temple rose back of the town of Debot, on the 



DERR IS THE SITE OF A ROCK-HEWN TEMPLE ; A 
BUSY MARKET FOR MANY VARIETIES OF NUBIAN 
MANUFACTURED ARTICLES 



1 7 8 



The Destiny of Doris 



west bank; and at Kertassi, 15 miles farther, was a 
dainty little edifice that recalled the pretty kiosk at 
Philse. The sandstone cliffs of that region were the 
quarries for half the temples between that point and 
Luxor. Walls of rock encroach upon the river, creating 
the imposing and gloomy gorge called Bab el-Kalabsheh. 
Navigation at this point is difficult, owing to the tortu- 
ous course of the stream, but when we emerged from 
the canon, as from a tunnel, a massive temple appeared 
on our right. We had crossed the Tropic of Cancer dur- 
ing the passage of the watery defile, as I discovered by 
consulting a map. The Temple of Kalabsheh would 
have been well worth a visit to any Egyptian traveler 
who had not supped and dined on ruins for days. 

As the afternoon wore away, we steamed slowly past 
Dendur, and near six o'clock we stopped at Dakkeh to 
make repairs to the boat's machinery. A few travelers, 
like myself, took advantage of the halt to visit the well- 
preserved temple, — comparatively modern, and the hiero- 
glyphics in excellent condition. 

Above this point the river widens into a kind of Tap- 
pan Zee, and is shallow and difficult of navigation by 
night; but before darkness fell we had passed round a 
broad bend to the westward and tied up at Sebua, the site 
of a Temple of Ammon, built by our friend Rameses II., 
where the king was worshiped as a god. The approach 
to the temple — as we found it early next morning — was 
through an avenue of Sphinxes, representing the king 
as a lion with a human head. The great hall, hewn out 
of rock, was too full of sand for comfortable exploration. 
An indescribable dread of open wells or trap-doors in 



Under the Southern Cross 179 



the floor attended my brief tramp through the quiver- 
ing, always yielding, sand. 

We did not stop at Korusko, — quite a busy place ap- 




The Morning Sun Penetrates to the Inner Chamber of the Temple 
at Abu Simble 



parently, — or at the Rock Temple of Derr, but pushed on 
to Abu Simble. 

Near Derr, I saw my first Nile crocodile! As it lay 
motionless in the water, the saurian resembled a cypress 



180 The Destiny of Doris 




Facade of the Rock-hewn Temfle at Abu Simble, Showing the 
Four Colossi 



log. The color effect was greenish-chestnut. A preju- 
dice exists among the natives against shooting them, — 
probably an evolution of ancient saurian-worship along 
the Nile. 

On the right bank was Toski, where Wad el Nejumi — 
the most heroic figure among all the Arab chieftains of 
the Soudan war, and the destroyer of Hicks Pasha's 
army — was defeated by Colonel Wodehouse, on August 



Under the Southern Cross 181 



3rd, 1888. He was bent on an invasion of Egypt, but was 
killed and his army destroyed. 

Part of the afternoon was spent at Abu Simble. No- 
thing seen in Africa produces the same impression of 
ancient Egyptian energy as that rock-hewn Temple of 
Rameses II. It is entirely excavated, and extends into 
the solid cliff-side 200 feet. Not a trace of cement or 
mortar is visible. Ascending the magnificent, though 




Second Cataract, at Wadi Halfa, Where the Nile Tumbles Over 
Masses of Volcanic Rock 



sand-covered, flight of steps, the imposing fagade rose 
before me in the style of a pylon, 100 feet high. In that 
lofty fore-court sit four colossi of Rameses II., each figure 



I&2 



The Destiny of Doris 



65 feet high, — taller than the colossi of Memnon at 
Thebes, which had seemed so stupendous on the plain 
of Thebes ! The head and shoulders of the statue at the 
left of the entrance has fallen to the floor, but the other 
three are intact. 

Having prepared ourselves with magnesium tape, we 
entered the Great Vestibule, walked slowly through the 
Small Hypostyle Hall and into the Sanctuary, exactly 
180 feet from the first doorway. Every square yard of 
the walls is covered with inscriptions and pictures. 
Weeks would be necessary for a minute examination. 
Behind the sacrificial altar, in the Sanctuary, are seated 
Ptah, Ammon-Re, the deified Rameses, and the hawk- 
headed Re-Harmkhis, — the four deities worshiped there. 
The temple was built facing the east, so that at sunrise 
the rays of the glorious orb of day penetrate the in- 
nermost sanctuary and render luminous the whole in- 
terior. 

Like the Arabs of Granada, 3,000 years later, the 
Egyptians at Abu Simble had invoked the God of Dawn ! 

We had no time or inclination to visit the smaller 
temples : we were intent on reaching Haifa that night. 

Every mile of the river's bank has its ruined fort- 
ress, temple, or city. We finally tied up at the village of 
Ankish. A few lights at Wadi Haifa could be seen a 
mile to the southward. Sending our baggage to the 
hotel, most of the passengers rode thither on donkeys, 
attended in usual fashion by wheezing drivers. The 
ride soon developed into a race for the best rooms at the 
hotel. 

That night I saw the splendid constellation of the 



A WADI-HALFA WATER-CARRIER ON THE UPPER 
NILE; THE PIGSKIN SUPPLANTS THE GLASS 
JAR SEEN IN CAIRO 



184 



The Destiny of Doris 



Southern Cross; the grand group of suns looked just 
as I had seen it in the West Indies. 

Wadi Haifa consists of several communities. It is on 
the edge of the Bisharin's own country, and a few war- 
riors, who have not been killed by British rifles, are seen 
wandering about the dusty streets, unhappy and restless. 
Here the very black Ethiopians are encountered, also 
many Abysinnians. The Arab has disappeared outside 
the bazaars. There the crafty merchant is found with 
the same restless eyes and the silken moustache that we 
have seen in Cairo. 

To the Arab-trader a moustache seems as necessary 
as to a ventriloquist! 

The train on the Military Railway did not leave for 
Khartum till 8 o'clock in the evening; so the day was 
utilized by crossing to the west bank and climbing the 
rocky heights of Abusir. From it every yard of the 
five miles of the Second Cataract can be> seen. The river 
engages in a constant struggle with sharp, stony snags, 
that tear the water into ribbons, or huge boulders against 
which it beats itself into foam. My donkey-boy sudden- 
ly offered me a knife, to cut my name into the soft stone, 
and when I shook my head, he led me to a peak I had not 
noticed, and showed me, deeply graven in the rock, the 
word "GORDON." Wadi Hal fans declare that the 
general sat for several hours at that lofty view-point 
the day before he set out for Khartum, gazing toward the 
Soudan. Then he graved his name, they say, and left 
the spot forever. The name is there, beyond a doubt. 

The night-ride in a sleeping-car across the desert, in 
which two Anglo-Egyptian armies were decimated by 



Under the Southern Cross 185 



thirst, sun-stroke, and fatigue, would have been one of 
real comfort had the sand been less persistent in en- 
tering the cars. The temperature fell toward midnight 
to such a degree that a thin blanket was welcome. Be- 
fore Lord Kitchener built the line that now renders it 
so easy of accomplishment, this journey required seven 




Village of Omdurman, Opposite Khartum, Where the Mahdi 
Had His Headquarters During the Siege of 
General Gordon's Forces 



days on camel-back. We were at Abu Hamed by break- 
fast-time, and, a restaurant-car having been attached, we 
enjoyed our morning repast rolling along the rapidly-nar- 
rowing and island-bespangled Nile. 

The neighborhood of the Fifth Cataract was passed 
two hours before we came to Berber, where General 



i86 



The Destiny of Doris 



Gordon's line of communication was finally cut and his 
doom rendered certain. The last Dervish Occupation 
was the ruin of this once-prosperous center of caravan 
trade. It is in the same condition — on a small scale — as 
Alexandria, — the once-mighty trade-mart of the world. 

Toward nightfall we crossed the famous Atbara 
Bridge, erected by American contractors in a space of 
time so brief as to astonish the scientific men of all na- 
tions. The width of the river-bed — then nearly dry — 
indicated that when in flood the Atbara is the size of the 
Ohio at Wheeling. 

Now I understood how the steel superstructure was 
brought so expeditiously from the seacoast! The con- 
tractors shipped the materials from Alexandria to Shellal, 
loaded them there into light-draft steamers, and trans- 
ferred them to cars at Wadi Haifa for their destina- 
tion. 

After a cool night's journey, — without discomfort 
from sand, — through Sagadi, Shendi, and — after day- 
light — Hamyeh, the train drew up at its last station, near 
the mouth of the Blue Xile. 

I was especially disappointed at the shallowness of 
this Abysinnian affluent of the great river. Back-water 
from the White Xile gave it an imposing appearance at 
the junction of the two streams ; but on the following day 
I found that the Blue Xile was fordable a few miles 
south of the city. The White Xile is the perennial 
stream ; but the Blue Xile, which almost runs dry in May, 
is the irrigator of Egypt, and supplies the torrent that 
overflows the X T ile Valley for 1,800 miles. From the end 
of the railway, passengers were conveyed by small boats 



TWO ARAB FRUIT WOMEN: THE SUGAR-CANE VENDOR 
IS MARRIED, AS HER FACE COVERING INDICATES ; THE 
ORANGE-GIRL DOESN'T COVET MATRIMONY 



88 



The Destiny of Doris 



to Khartum, which stands about 400 meters south of the 
junction of the Blue and White Niles. 

On the western bank of the river was the Kordofan 
town of Omdurman, where the Mahdi established his 
capital before Gordon was killed and Khartum taken. 

It was Saturday morning, and four days had elapsed 
since I had left Assouan. As the crow flies, I was with- 
in 350 miles of Fashoda! 

Three interesting days were passed at the Anglo- 
Egyptian seat of government in the Soudan. The names 
of Sir Samuel Baker and General Gordon render the 
quaint town exceedingly interesting to a traveler of the 
Caucasian race. The population of Khartum would 
be hard to fix, as no two authorities agree. I should 
say, it did not exceed 1,500 inhabitants, exclusive of the 
English and Egyptian troops in barracks and hospital. 
The Government buildings are of white stone and stucco. 
Direct telegraphic communication exists with Cairo, 
and mail arrives once or twice a week. 

The bazaars are the most interesting seen in Africa. 
They are filled with wares brought from Darfur, by 
caravan or floated down the White Nile from the re- 
gions of the Great Lakes, Albert and Victoria. 

Shrouded in mystery as is the final catastrophe of the 
Gordon regime, the accredited scene of his death at the 
head of the stairway in the palace is just such a place 
at a bizarre character like Gordon would choose in 
which to meet his end. During the trip, by boat and rail 
from Shellal, I had carefully read his six Diaries, sent 
from Khartum between September 30th and Decem- 
ber 15th, 1884, and I had formed an idea of General 



Under the Southern Cross 189 



Gordon's character, which had not changed by anything 
subsequently seen or heard. He would appear to have 
been a religious crank! His disposition had evidently 
soured toward his native country. His Diaries are flip- 
pant, when they ought to have been serious. Gordon 
brought his troubles upon himself : he was sent away 




A Soudanese Warrior at Khartum, Captured in the Fashoda 
Campaign, Posing on a Camel; the Only Thing that Ren- 
ders Him Dangerous is His Fearlessness of Death 



from London on a definite mission, with instructions to 
reach Khartum by way of Suakin, the Egyptian port 
on the Red Sea. Obviously, this was to prevent him 
from entering into any entangling alliance with the 
Khedive. Instead of proceeding to Port Said and di- 
rectly down the Red Sea, Gordon went to Cairo and 



SQUARE OF MAHOMET ALI, IN THE CENTRE OF 
NEW ALEXANDRIA. A STATUE OF THE GREAT 
KHEDIVE GIVES NAME TO THE PLACE 



The Destiny of Doris 



secured an appointment as Governor-General of the 
Soudan ! His only excuse for this remarkably presump- 
tuous act was that he could not expect obedience from 
the Egyptian officers and men, and could not exercise 
proper authority unless he held office under the Khedive ! 
I never have been able to find that the Gladstone Gov- 
ernment intended that he should "wield any authority 
over the troops of the Khedive." In this particular, 
Gordon was a meddler; when he got himself into an 
awkward position, by assuming unexpected responsibili- 
ties, he became a whiner. 

His bravery, his conscientious sense of duty to the gar- 
risons he had taken over, and his fidelity unto death to 
the Arabs who stood by him is beyond question. His 
size was that of a regimental, or brigade, commander. 
He was not equal to the government of a province. His 
Chinese-record as a commander, who struck promptly 
and with awe-inspiring severity, was nullified by his 
year's shilly-shallying at Khartum. As I stood on the 
top of the Serail, — where he had stood so often during 
those long and agonizing months of suspense, — and 
gazed over the surrounding country for miles, I could 
only marvel that Gordon had held out against the Mahdi 
as long as he had. The possibilities of defending the 
promontory from artillery-fire are meagre. I understood 
perfectly what Lord Milner meant by describing the im- 
practicable Arab chieftain, Wad el Nejumi, who tried to 
lead an army across the Nubian Desert into Egypt, as 
"the Gordon of Mahdiism." 

The train to connect with the boat at Wadi Haifa left 
on Tuesday night, and the fifth morning I was in Cairo. 



GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE, MOUNT OF 
OLIVES, SCENE OF THE SAVIOUR'S 
AGONY : AS IT IS TO-DAY 




THE JORDAN, WHERE CHRIST WAS BAPTIZED AND THE ISRAELITES CROSSED 



Chapter Fourteen 

Under the Holy Cross 

WHEN I returned to Cairo, my friends had 
completed their leisurely trip down the 
Nile from Luxor on one of the Cook-boats, 
stopping at the Temple of Denderah; 
at Abydos, with its curious temples of Sethi and Rame- 
ses II. ; at Assiout, where a slave-market secretly ex- 
isted long after the trade had been abolished in other 
parts of Egypt, and, finally, at Beni-Hassan and its 
interesting tombs. Four days, thus, had been pleasantly 
occupied, while I had been sweltering on the road to 
Khartum. 

They had made a hurried visit to Alexandria, "the City 
of a Thousand Lights," — for many centuries the greatest 
seaport in the world. She became the seat of poetry, 
science, and art ; was the abode of Apelles, Euclid, Strabo, 
Aristophanes, Apollodorus, and Theocritus. The lighted 
windows of her myriad houses shone far across the sea. 
The discovery of the route to India by the Cape of Good 

193 



194 



The Destiny of Doris 



Hope, dealt the first of a series of blows to Alexandria 
that, in the aggregate, have ruined her trade and de- 
stroyed her architectural beauties. The opening of the 
Suez Canal ended forever her importance on the Med- 
iterranean, and English shells laid low her battlemented 
walls. 

Mrs. Wentworth and her companions found a blighted 
modem city, bearing the scar of civilizing vandalism. 
They searched in vain for traces of Caesar and Mark An- 
tony, but saw only some baths that bore the name of 
Cleopatra. 1 am permitted to make the following ex- 
tract from Miss Wentworth's diary : 

"The four hours' ride from Cairo was through the 
garden of Egypt, — the Delta. Amid an exuberance of 
verdure, we forgot the parched wastes of Arabia and 
Lybia. The approach to the town, cooled by the glisten- 
ing waters of Mareotis and the Mediterranean, was 
thrilling to travelers returned from the desert. The lux- 
uriance of the surrounding country contrasted sadly with 
the general decadence still in progress in Alexandria. 
I felt as if contemplating a human creature stricken with 
death. I knew that we were yet in Egypt ! 

"We drove to Pompey's Pillar, but it was a dismal 
trip, recalling the ride from Cairo to Heliopolis and its 
single obelisk. We found it behind an Arab cemetery. 
The column of red Assouan granite, sixty-five feet high, 
and nine feet in diameter, is nobility in stone. An artifi- 
cial eminence renders the monolith visible from every 
part of the harbor. 

"Our intention had been to remain over night at Alex- 
andria ; but we learned that a train with a dining-car 




A MUSSULMAN OF ALEXANDRIA PREPARING TO SET* 
OUT ON THE MECCA PILGRIMAGE; HE WILL TRAVEL 
AND SLEEP IN THE PALANQUIN 



196 The Destiny of Doris 



left at six o'clock for the capital, so we took it. We 
dined well, and the time passed so pleasantly that the 




House of a True Believer, Who Had Made the Pilgrimage to Mecca, 
and Wanted Everybody to Know 



lights of Cairo showed through the car-window before 
we realized that the journey was ended." 

But an event of the highest importance — not set down 
by Miss Wentworth — had happened at the old seaport. 
One of the first things I observed on meeting Doris was 
a fine diamond ring on her left hand ; — its possession in- 
volved a pretty story : 

"The young people rambled about the shops in Alex- 
andria, and returned to our hotel in high spirits," Mrs. 
Wentworth explained to me. " 'Quite like London,' 
chattered Doris. 'Street scenes same as Cairo,' Vernon 



Under the Holy Cross 197 



chimed in. 'Water peddled about in cans. Doris dis- 
covered a house covered with crude pictures. It be- 
longed to a good Mohammedan who had made the pil- 
grimage to Mecca. She made a picture of the wall. It 
was the most interesting thing we saw/ 'What a terri- 
ble fib!' whispered Doris to me, holding up her hand 
that I might see a diamond upon it; then she added, 
aloud, 'This ring is far more interesting to me, mamma.' 
I took the dear girl in my arms and kissed her. I could 




Last Sight of the Pyramids of Gizeh, from the Train 

have wept for joy. Feeling that he must say something, 
Vernon stammered 'Oh, yes ! We also saw a ring in a 
window, and I put it on Doris' finger.' I was quite pre- 
pared for the appearance of an engagement ring, because 



198 



The Destiny of Doris 



Vernon haunted my steps every hour on the Nile boat 
until he caught me alone one afternoon, when Doris was 
napping in her cabin, and he went at the subject of his 
marriage to my daughter in such a resolute way as to 
leave no doubt of his determination to have a hearing. 
His manner was wholly changed. He had attempted, 
timidly, to bring up the subject on board the Hohen- 
zollern, between Gibraltar and Naples, and I had put him 
off; but on the Nile he had the courage of his convic- 
tions. He won my heart completely. I didn't want to 
refuse him. He is a gallant fellow, and I believe he will 
make Doris happy." 

Hardly had Mrs. Wentworth finished before Blake 
came to where we were sitting on the broad hotel-porch, 
overlooking the Ezbekiyeh. 

"You ought to be a very happy man," I hastened to 
say, extending my hand. "I sincerely congratulate you." 

My face surely reflected the gladness I felt; for this 
engagement meant much to me. 

"I thank you, Mr. North," he replied, — adding in a 
low voice: "You have been a good friend and a wise 
advisor." 

"She is worthy of the best man living," said I. 

"She's the sweetest girl on earth!" 

Blake would have hugged me could he have loosened 
my hand-grasp. 

We said farewell to Cairo with regret. Our month in 
Egypt had been thirty days of enjoyment without a 
single disturbing incident. We recalled our wonderful 
.experiences as the rapid morning-express carried us 



A HOTEL ON THE SUEZ CANAL, AMID ITS LUX- 
URIANT WEALTH OF TROPICAL VEGETATION 
AND DAZZLING SUNLIGHT 



200 



The Destiny of Doris 



through the Delta to the Desert on the way to Port 
Said. 

We were detained a couple of hours by the change of 
cars at Ismailiya, but occupied the time delightfully by 
driving to a hotel on the lake and having a bath. The 
water was delightful, and we entered -the cars greatly re- 
freshed for the trip along the bank of the Suez Canal. 

Boarding the steamer from the Port Said station, we 
dined and sailed for Jaffa at dusk. The Mediterranean 
was as mild as a mill-pond, and we awoke to find the 
ship at anchor off the Syrian port, the mountains 
of Judea in the background. Quite a level stretch of 
country intervened between the shore and the hills, the 
southern part of which was the historic Plain of Phil- 
istia. To the north stretched the Plain of Sharon. 

As at Tangier, we landed in small boats, at a flight 
of steps on the sea-wall. Simon's tan-yard was along- 
side the steps ; and the water from its vats discolored the 
Mediterranean. 

''Peter had a dream there, and saw things, you remem- 
ber," began Blake. 

The train didn't start until the middle of the after- 
noon, so we took luncheon at a hotel. 

"Change cars for Jerusalem!" is no longer an idle 
joke. The ascent of 3,000 feet, and ride of 90 miles, 
from the coast to the Holy City is accomplished in four 
hours and a half. The cars are comfortable, but most 
of the region traversed is very gloomy. 

The line leads first to Ramleh, through meadows aglow 
with the red anemone, known in all parts of the world 



Under the Holy Cross 



261 



as The Rose of Sharon. At the top of a steep grade 
is a fine panorama of the field of Ajalon, where "the sun 
stood still until the people had avenged themselves upon 
their enemies." Ascent then begins in earnest, and ends 
_____ ___ . . 




Port of Jaffa, One of the Most Dangerous on the Mediterranean: 
House of Simon the Tanner at the Right 



at the station outside the Jaffa Gate. So general is the 
wish of believers in the Christian faith to enter the city 
on foot, as did the Saviour, that most of the carriages 
await the approaching throng of travelers inside the 



202 The Destiny of Doris 



walls. We were driven to the hotel through narrow, 
filthy streets, flagrantly malodorous. 

The best authorities declare that the aspect of the Holy 
City within the walls is unchanged, and that whatever 
is new in Jerusalem has grown outside. 

Blake and I made a half-hearted attempt at a walk that 
night, but the streets were unsuited for any such adven- 
ture, and we returned without being able to find even a 
place of refreshment. 

Our first pilgrimage was to the Mosque of Omar, on 
the site of Solomon's Temple. The high wall surrounding 
this Arab church separates it from the rest of the city. 
The enclosure equals a square quarter-mile — the area of 
the old temple. Into this dearest place on earth to the 
Jew, he may not enter; but he has bought the right to 
lean against the outside of the wall, and bewail the de- 
struction of his city and temple. As it was Friday, 
almost every foot of the narrow cul dc sac was occu- 
pied by native Hebrews, busy with their lamentations. 
The sight was painful, because the mental agony of the 
despairing men was genuine. For eighteen hundred 
years it has continued. 

We walked and rode to the Mount of Olives, to see 
the sun set. 

"Where are the trees that give this hill its name?" 
asked Doris. 

No one could answer. 

"The ground is miserably poor and stony; but the 
olive will grow in any soil," said the dragoman. "The 
surface is cut by so many mud walls that the localities 



SITE OF THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON ; WALLS SHOWING 
ITS AREA AND THE MOSQUE OF OMAR; TO IT CHRIS- 
TIANS ARE NOW ADMITTED ; JEWS NEVER 



The Destiny of Doris 



identified with the life of Christ can no longer be identi- 
fied. " 

The Mount is beyond the Kedron. and the climb was 
about as steep as the side of the Great Pyramid. We 
halted a short time at the Garden of Gethsemane, enclosed 
by a stone-wall and guarded by the Latin and Greek 
churches. Reaching the summit of the Mount, we looked 
southward to the point that was "over against the 
temple.'' It was a pitiful scene of desolation. The 
Mosque of Omar was in full view, from base to dome. 
We probably stood where the Saviour wept over the city 
and predicted its destruction. 

Climbing to the top of a minaret nearby, we 
were able to look over a ridge into the Valley of 
Jehoshaphat. To our amazement, the Jordan was in plain 
sight, and the broad blue expanse of the Dead Sea twen- 
ty miles away, with the mountains of Moab behind it ! 

The mosque wherein we stood is believed to cover 
the place of the Ascension, and is held in equal rever- 
ence by Mohammedan and Christian. The Arab believes 
in three dispensations : — The first by Moses, the second 
bv Christ, and the third by Mahomet. Christians gener- 
ally do not understand that the followers of Islam ac- 
cept Christ as the second of God's representatives on 
earth. The Mohammedan believes in one God, repu- 
diating the Trinity. He promulgates a code of morals 
virtually the same as that given to Moses on Sinai. His 
psalms closely resemble those of David ; he admits the 
miraculous birth and unique character of Jesus Christ, 
and, instead of repentance and salvation by grace, he con- 
tents himself with sublime confidence in God's mercy. 



Under the Holy Cross 205 



His conscience is put at ease after any namable sin by 
prompt confession; his belief in God's merciful forgive- 
ness is boundless. ' 

The orb of day finally sank behind the hills of Judea 
with a resplendent glory, little in keeping with the deso- 
lation on every hand. In the twilight we strolled back 




Well Inside the Area of the Old Temple. Arabs Drawing 
Water for Their Ablutions Before Entering 
Mosque of Omar 

to the city-gate, much impressed by the solemnity of the 
hour and place. 

The following morning we went to Bethlehem, — not a 
severe tax upon our strength, because we hired a carriage. 



206 



The Destiny of Doris 



After leaving the rocky eminence of the Holy City, we 
passed farms, olive groves, and grain fields under culti- 
vation. The village actually looked prosperous, and 
the houses better than any we saw in Palestine. It is 
a Christian community, very few Mohammedans or Jews 
dwelling there. We went direct to the old basilica, built 
on the site of the traditional cave in which Christ was 
born. 

"St. Jerome's belief that the place of the Nativity was 
a grotto in the side of a cliff, was accepted by the build- 
ers of this memorial," I explained. 

"Wallace, in 'Ben Hur,' takes the same tradition," add- 
ed Doris. "The caves along the side of this hill recall 
those we saw in Italy, between Naples and Rome, and 
up the Nile." 

We entered the basilica, and stood before the niche 
in which Christ was born. A silver star, above which 
sixteen lamps are always aglow, marks the exact spot! 
I grazed at this bit of white metal with interest other 
than religious. 

"This is the silver star," I said, thoughtfully, "that 
Kinglake, in the remarkable preface to his History of 
the Crimean War, declares to be the key to the entire 
Eastern Question — a dispute that has bankrupted half 
the nations of Europe; that compels the maintenance of 
millions of armed soldiery ; that sustains the Empire of 
'The Unspeakable Turk' as neutral ground, and defeats 
Russia's hope of occupying Constantinople; that contin- 
ues the retrogression of Syria and Asia Minor, and com- 
pels England's occupation of Egypt as a defensive meas- 



WAILING PLACE, WHERE THE JEWS GO EVERY FRIDAY 
TO LAMENT THEIR MISFORTUNES: THE IMMENSE BLOCKS 
WERE PART OF THE ORIGINAL TEMPLE 



208 



The Destiny of Doris 



ure ! Surely nothing else in all Palestine possesses equal 
potentiality affecting the destiny of the human race." 

St. Jerome's tomb occupies a recess in this church; 
here he passed several years. The present Church of the 
Nativity dates from the fourth century, and is simple, 
though massive, in design. Shabby now, its ex- 
terior was originally decorated with mosaics and inlaid 
work. 

"The business of Bethlehem consists chiefly in making 
and selling relics to believers," commented Mrs. YVent- 
worth, after inspecting shops and factories, wherein the 
workmen were using the most primitive tools and were 
accomplishing but very meagre results. 

We then drove to the oldest town in Palestine, — He- 
bron, — where is the oak under which Sheik Abraham 
pitched his tent 4.000 years before. His tomb and that of 
Isaac is as real as anything in Egypt — the tomb bazaar of 
the world ; but a mosque stands over the Cave of Macpe- 
lah. and it cost us an Egyptian pound and bakshish for 
slippers to enter. And we were not permitted to see any- 
thing but the door of the tomb. A halt was made at the 
Pool of Hebron, on one side of which was a structure re- 
sembling an old mill, the water very clear, and the 
number of unwashed Turks lounging about its curb 
large. 

A modern building with a plastered dome covers the 
grave of Rachel, which, like Abraham's resting-place, is 
revered equally by Moslem and Christian. 

The pretty, green farms surrounding Bethlehem, 
were the most luxuriant bits of vegetation we had met 



RACHEL'S TOMB, EQUALLY REVERED BY CHRISTIAN 
AND MOSLEM ; DISTANT VIEW OF BETHLEHEM ON 
THE HILLSIDE AT THE RIGHT 



2IO 



The Destiny of Doris 



since leaving the Delta of the Nile. A last view of the 
village was had from the crest of a hill. 

A trip to the Dead Sea, though but a matter of twenty 
miles, is magnified into an arduous undertaking by drag- 
omen and tourist-managers. They always travel with 
tents and camp-equipage, and make a two or three days' 
pilgrimage. Securing good saddle-horses, in preference 
to carriages, we made the journey without serious dis- 
comfort between dawn and darkness. 

Leaving the Jaffa Gate as the sun rose behind us, we 
made a half-circuit of Jerusalem, descending, as we did 
so, into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, crossing the Kedron, 
and skirting the southern base of the Mount of Olives, 
through Bethany toward Jericho, like "a certain man who 
went down" before us. 

"This is the rockiest road in all creation," said Blake, 
as we picked our way tediously among large boulders 
that encumbered the path. "A week's work, properly di- 
rected, would clear away these rocks. I'd like to be road- 
commissioner for a month." 

"It's dangerous to be a reformer in the Sultan's do- 
minions,*' said I, as I turned aside for a boulder the size 
of a large dry-goods box. 

"A 50 horse-power motor would be necessary to drive 
a tram-car up this grade ; but an electric trolley is the 
remedy needed here," was Blake's reply. 

We rode down the steep hill, which Christ ascended on 
his last journey to Jerusalem from Jericho, — where he 
had healed the two blind men. The "Inn of the Good 
Samaritan" is a wretched little khan where we couldn't 



THE STREET OF SORROWS, ALONG WHICH CHRIST BORE THE 
CROSS : NEAR THE FIFTH STATION AND AT THE ARCH WHERE 
THE WORDS WERE UTTERED: "BEHOLD THE MAN I " 



212 



The Destiny of Doris 



find anything to drink, so we pushed on to the Fountain 
of Elisha, eight miles from our destination. 

The Dead Sea lies 1,300 feet below sea-level, or 4,300 
feet below Jerusalem, and the descent is principally in 
the last sixteen miles. We made a detour to get a 
glimpse of the River Jordan. 

"I am disappointed at its size," said Blake, when we 
sat our horses on the brow of a hill overlooking the 
sacred stream. "It isn't much over a hundred feet wide, 
though it is running like a mill-race." 

The "stormy banks" of Jordan were rugged, rocky 
hills, with abundant verdure at the water's edge. We 
found a party of tourists filling bottles from the sacred 
stream. 

An hour's ride brought us to the beach of the Dead Sea. 
Blake and I hurried to the shore. Both of us having 
brought a bathing suit, we found shelter, and were soon 
arrayed as if at Cape May or Newport. 

"Jupiter ! How cold the water is !" exclaimed Blake. 

"Yes," I answered, shivering; "but we can't drown, 
if we do get the cramp. There is something in that." 

"Ugh ! Don't swallow this water," gasped my compan- 
ion, sputtering. "You'll never recover from the thirst." 

It was not a pleasant bath. A peculiar stinging sensa- 
tion was felt over our entire bodies. Water dripping 
from our hair left white streaks down our cheeks. Our 
bathing-suits dried as rough as sackcloth. 

On the return- journey, we were besieged by several 
lepers, just outside the city-gate. They had left their 
miserable huts to importune us for alms. The ladies 
were horrified at the awful appearance of these unfortu- 



JERUSALEM FROM THE NORTH, SHOWING THE 
CHARACTER OF THE HOUSES, AND THE SPIRES 
OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES 



214 



The Destiny of Doris 



nate creatures, and we hastened to bestow all the small 
money we had with us. They were still persistent, and 
our dragoman then drove them away with stones : the 
natives waste little sympathy on these stricken outcasts. 

We reached our hotel at dark, tired and dusty after 
our long ride, but well-pleased. Dinner tasted good that 
night. 

"After dinner I always feel better," murmured Blake. 
"It sounds carnal to a degree, and gluttonous to an abase- 
ment ; but it's the truth." 

Having still two days before our return to Jaffa, we 
went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, identified 
with those misguided destroyers of human life known as 
the Crusaders. Taking the New Testament for a guide 
(open at the nth chapter of St. John), we strolled 
about Bethany, called at the humble dwelling of Mar- 
tha and Mary, and walked thence to the tomb of Lazarus. 

The inclination to write of the view of Jerusalem from 
the Mount of Olives, as seen on the return-ride from 
Bethany, is well-nigh irresistible. The Holy City lay 
at our feet ; we could gaze into the courts of the Mosque 
of Omar, and count the people walking there ! 

How glad we were to leave Jerusalem and its dirty 
streets ! An Austrian boat carried us from Jaffa down 
the coast to Port Said, where we caught a North German 
Lloyd steamer from China and Japan. After four de- 
lightful days on the Mediterranean, repassing the Strait 
of Messina and smoking Stromboli, we again reached 
Naples. 

Quite unlike iEneas, "we came to Italy and the Lavin- 
ian shores." 



THE BEAUTIFUL BAY OF NAPLES, WITH VESUVIUS IN THE DISTANCE 



Chapter Fifteen 

La Bella Napoli 

>- , "V T ATCH your luggage at Naples !" ought to 
\/\/ ^e i nscl "ibed over the landing-stage. 
▼ ▼ The fiercest, greediest gang of facchi- 
nos found anywhere on the Mediter- 
ranean coast stands ready to seize your traps. If you are 
not watchful, a porter will have to be paid for handling 
each package, however small. Mrs. Wentworth's hat-box 
weighed two pounds, but a man insisted on payment for 
carrying it ashore. The dugano gave no trouble, and 
to avoid worry from the cab-drivers, we took a stage to 
our hotel. 

The sun was warm as May, though the month was 
March. Neapolitans live in the streets, and the Toledo 
was overflowing with a freshet of human life. This fine 
thoroughfare ends at the Piazza, around which is grouped 
the Royal Palace, the San Carlo theatre, and the Galleria 
Umberto. There is also the prettiest church in Naples, 
San Francesco di Paola, — another imitation of the 

215 



2l6 



The Destiny of Doris 



"heathen" Pantheon, decorated with the peristyle-ap- 
proach to St. Peter's. The Toledo is the gayest street 
in Europe, outside of Paris and its Boulevards. 

"Apartments are to let in nearly every house," said 
Blake. 

"When I tell you that the port of Genoa does seven 
times the business of Naples, though the city has hardly 
more than a third of its population, you can understand 
how great must be the suffering here, due to the scarcity 
of work," I replied. 

The best restaurants of the new city are German, in 
which Wiener schnitzel and Frankfurter sausage are 
better served than raviuoli or spaghetti ; to find Italian 
cooking, one must seek the old town, lying between the 
Toledo and the bay. 

"Shopping in Naples is a delight," said Mrs. Went- 
worth at dinner that evening. "I am working off the 
meanness in my nature. I must have had a bartering 
ancestor." 

"I feared my grandmother had been a bum-boat wom- 
an when I heard you offer forty lira for a hat quoted at 
ninety," said Doris, petulantly. 

"Egypt prepared me for an encounter with these pi- 
rates." 

"I should think so; you hardened my heart," rejoined 
Doris. "But did you get the hat ?" 

"It wasn't much of an affair, — only fit to travel in," 
answered her mother ; "but it is in my room. When I 
left that shop, I wrote my hotel address on a card and 
named forty-five lira as my final offer. The hat reached 
here before I did." 



TOLEDO STREET, THE GREAT TRADE ARTERY 
OF NAPLES, WHERE EVERYBODY WALKS IN 
THE COOL OF THE EVENING 



218 



The Destiny of Doris 



"I wish you'd teach me how to buy sweet chocolate at 
the same rate," said Doris. "For the first time in my 
life, I feel that it is an expensive luxury." 

"So it is, in Italy, where the necessities of life, not the 
luxuries, are taxed. Imagine a duty on salt !" 

"The Neapolitans are born smugglers, and they can't 
be blamed," was my contention. "Masaniello's wife 
was caught bringing flour into Naples in her stockings, 
and the city dugano has been suspicious of fish-women 
to this day. Neapolitans of Masaniello's time felt the 
tyranny of Spain, just as did the Cubans. Our hearts 
went out to the latter, and we must justify the revolt led 
by the young fisherman against the persecutions of his 
fellow-countrymen." 

"He was king for eight days, — then the headsman," 
said Mr. Blake. 

"Yes ; but, like John of Leyden, he was immortalized 
in an opera," retorted Doris. 

"Speaking of opera, 'Masaniello' will be sung to- 
night at the San Carlo," I resumed. "The advertise- 
ments say that 'real fishermen and women from Portici 
will be added to the chorus for pictorial effect.' " 

"How delightful !" exclaimed the matron of our party. 
"I once heard 'Carmen' at Madrid with the veritable 
espada of Grenada and his attendant chulos, banderil- 
l,eros,and picadores in the parade that opens the last act. 
We must go to-night." 

"You will use my cabs," said Blake. "I have hired 
two while we stay in town, at twelve lira a day ! The 
men are in livery, and the horses are 'good-lookers.' Did 
you ever hear of anything so cheap ?" 



TYPICAL TENEMENTS, FACING THE MARINA 
OR LANDING STAGE, IN NAPLES (CALLED 
THE ARCHES OF ACTEOJ 



220 The Destiny of Dons 



*'How did you put in the afternoon?" asked Doris, 
addressing Blake. 

"While you ladies were shopping, I drove out the Po- 
silipo road, visiting Virgil's tomb en route" he replied. 
"Can you imagine the grave of the author of the /Eneid 
in the fruit-garden of a Frenchman? It was a lucky 
hour for the present owner of the ground when Virgil 
directed that, after death, his ashes be taken from Brun- 
dusium to Naples. The poet assured him an income of 
twenty to thirty liras per day. The garden has grown 
rank, but the tomb is a paying property." 

"That recalls the ostrich farm at Heliopolis," inter- 
jected Mrs. YVentworth. "The managers of that indus- 
try probably make more money by charging admission 
than by selling feathers." 

"I entered the small vaulted chamber," continued 
Blake, "and while trying to feel proper reverence for my 
surroundings, a keeper in a blue blouse attempted to sell 
me some Roman coins 'found on the spot/ Had I 
known the oath with which Boccaccio foreswore trade 
for poetry, at that identical place. I'd have used it vigor- 
ously. The laurel planted by Petrarch died long ago, 
and the urn containing Virgil's ashes has been mislaid ; 
but the tomb is a shrine. I emerged, covered with dust, 
but saturated with reverence." 

"Ho wells likens Virgil's tomb to 'a spring-house on an 
Ohio farm/ I remember." was my comment. "Virgil 
was a farmer-boy. His best verse deals with country 
life." 

"If we are going to the opera," said Blake, giving the 
conversation a new turn, "I'll drive round for a box." 



A QUAINT OLD STREET IN NAPLES, THE VIA 
DI CHIAIA, INTO WHICH THE SUNLIGHT PENE- 
TRATES ONLY AT HIGH NOON 



222 



The Destiny of Doris 



"No, no," protested Mrs. Wentworth. "Get stalls. 
You remember how excellent the eight-lira seats are. 
Doris and I haven't time or inclination to dress for a 
box." 

The Portici fisher-people were on the stage, — as prom- 
ised, — but the subdued colors of their costumes gave a 
somber, rather than gay, tone to scenes that are usually so 
bright with reds and yellows. The Xeapolitan costume 
of the stage and of modern pictorial art is not the real 
thing. Another disillusionment ! but one that was satis- 
factory rather than otherwise. 

The hour was late when we drove home, for the tro- 
vatori were moving along the streets, like fire-flies, hunt- 
ing with swinging lanterns for cigar-ends and lost ar- 
ticles. 

The Neapolitans are the most interesting study in 
Naples. Donning a golf suit, Doris roamed, camera in 
hand, through the old part of the town during the days 
that followed. She found a characteristic street, the 
Ma di Chiaia. back of the Piazza die Martin, and made 
a picture of the busy terrace-way when the sun was at the 
zenith. 

One afternoon we drove to the Peoples' Garden, where 
an audience of rag-pickers and trovatori. resting before 
their night's toil, listened enraptured to public readers 
declaiming Tasso and Dante. This enjoyment and edu- 
cation cost them a soldo each, which they paid willingly. 
A funeral procession was encountered on the way back; 
but the corpse had been buried the preceding day in the 
public pit. What we saw was a revel, headed by friends 



SORRENTO STANDS ON A HIGH BLUFF, WITH 
MOUNTAINS FOR A BACKGROUND, AND IS A 
BOWER OF ILEX AND LEMON TREES 



224 



The Destiny of Doris 



of the dead in fantastic masks. " The bier, with its bright- 
ly embroidered pall, was rented for the carouse. 

Packing our hand-bags, we took train for Castellam- 
mare, whence we drove along a high road of unusual 
excellence and beauty ten miles to Sorrento. We en- 
tered the home of Tasso through avenues of ilex, after 
having crossed a deep ravine. Its hotels are as good as 
those of Naples. Its houses are gay with flowering 
vines and painted frescoes. 

Mr. Blake and the ladies took donkeys late in the 
afternoon, and traveled two miles by the Massa Road 
and a steep path on its left to the Yigna Sersale, once 
the home of Tasso's sister. Here they gained a glorious 
view of Capri and the trembling sea between, — "Premo- 
lar dell a marina' of Dante. 

The dainty saloon-steamer "Nixie" came over from 
Naples next morning, as it comes every day, on its way 
to Capri. We descended from the high bluff to the 
landing by a "lift," entered a dingy on the beach, and 
were soon aboard the "Nixie." 

The run to the Blue Grotto, on the north side of Capri, 
occupied less than an hour's time. Small boats, carrying 
two passengers each, conveyed us to a low entrance in 
the face of the precipitous cliff. 

"Lie down!" commanded our bare-footed oarsman, 
from his meager stock of English. We hurriedly knelt 
in the bottom of the boat, as we were carried on the 
crest of a wave into the mystic cavern. 

When we arose inside, our eyes were dazzled by the 
opalescent-blue glow that enveloped us. We were in a 
dome-shaped grotto, its walls glittering with alabaster- 




THE TOWN OF CAPRI CLINGS TO THE CREST OF A 
ROCKY SADDLE, UNITING TWO TOWERING HILLS: 
HERE THE NARROW STREETS ARE SHOWN 



226 



The Destiny of Doris 



like incrustations, and its roof studded with stalactites 
of crystal. 

"I feel as if I were gorged with indigo," said Blake. 

"Never mind," laughed Doris. "We'll be patricians 
of the bluest blood when we escape." 

Seeing a boy prepared for a plunge into the pellucid 
depths, I tossed him a lira and he immediately dived into 
the water. The effect was weirdly beautiful. 

"His body resembles a sparkling sapphire !" exclaimed 
Mrs. Wentworth, as we watched the swimmer far under 
the surface. 

. Landing at the Marina, we drove to a dream-land 
hotel on the dizzy heights of Capri. The town is a 
bazaar, clinging to a narrow ridge, or "saddle," that con- 
nects two mountain-peaks. Art is the patron divinity. 
Studios crowd each other in every narrow lane, and 
models loiter in the dainty piazza seeking engagement. 

The landscapes of Capri exceed the most fanciful 
dreams : painters need only reproduce the scenes before 
their eyes. 

Capri is the most interesting suburb of Naples, after 
Pompeii. It lies 17 miles south of that city, and is in the 
path of steamers entering the bay. Its population is 
6,000, about equally divided between the two towns — ■ 
Capri and Anacapri. The first is 500 feet above the 
sea, and the second, 1,000 feet. Harassed for centuries 
by the Saracens, its people retain many of the traits of 
that race. Under Bourbon rule, during the 18th cen- 
tury, the British held it from 1806 to 1808. Its English 
governor was Colonel (afterward Sir Hudson) Lowe, the 
custodian of Napoleon at St. Helena. The humiliation 



ENTRANCE TO THE BLUE GROTTO IS THE LOW 
OPENING AT THE LEFT CORNER: THE CLIFF SIDE 
OF CAPRI IS HERE PORTRAYED 



2 28 



The Destiny of Doris 



of a prisoner, helpless in his hands, would appear to 
have been the real measure of Lowe's ability ; for he was 
a failure at Capri. His Palazzo Inglese is still shown, 
but the people of Capri have little respect for his name. 

Memories of Xapoleon exist everywhere along this 
coast. — we shall see Elba and Corsica on our way to 
Genoa. 

The Caprians are very hospitable to strangers. Like 
country folk in the United States, they always speak 
in passing — men raise their hats, women smile or cour- 
tesy. Crime is exceptional, and drunkenness unknown. 
Doors are never locked. Any lost articles are readily 
recovered through the parish priest. If there ever were 
any beggars on the island, they have emigrated to Naples. 

Capri is a delightful place to rest for a winter ; the 
cheapness of house-rent and food is phenomenal. We 
were shown pretty villas, surrounded by fig and orange 
trees, to be rented, furnished, for $25 a month ! 

The island has a different ramble for each day in the 
year. Less than an hour's walk from the dainty hotel 
where we dined, are the Natural Arch, the Grotto Mi- 
tromania. — formerly a Temple of Mithras, — the Grotto of 
Castiglione, studded with stalactites, the Peak of Bar- 
barossa. 1,600 feet above the sea, the Fern Grotto, occu- 
pied during the Stone Age. or Porcello. famous for its 
thrilling view of Ischia. 

While the ladies rested at the hotel, Blake and I 
climbed to the Villa of Tiberius, interesting- as the hid- 
ing place of the crafty emperor, where he spent weeks 
at a time devising new cruelties and debaucheries. Here 



La Bella Napoli 



229 



the old tyrant dwelt the last ten years of his miserable 
life. 

When the boat left Capri, we intended to return direct 
to Naples, but we disembarked at Sorrento, and drove 
across the terraced peninsula to Amain. This is the 
quaintest town in Italy, with its cathedral of the eleventh 
century in the Lombard-Norman style, and its Capuchin 
monastery, now used as a hotel. Many of the old struc- 
tures literally hang to the face of the rocky slopes. Ev- 
erybody we met pointed out the landslide of a few years 
before. It will become an ever-pertinent topic, like the 
disaster in the Crawford Notch of the White Moun- 
tains. 

From Amalfi, we went by carriage to La Cava, over the 
most wonderful diligence-road in Europe, hewn in the 
cliff-side nearly the whole way, and 100 feet above the 
sea. 

A train carried us back to Naples in less than three 
hours. 



GENERAL VIEW OF POMPEII, WITH VESUVIUS IN THE 
DISTANCE: WE ARE LOOKING DOWN THE STREET 
OF FORTUNE, FROM THE FORUM 



AMPHITHEATRE WHERE GLAUCUS STOOD WHEN THE ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS BEGAN 



Chapter Sixteen 
Ambition Dead and Buried 

POMPEII is more interesting than Naples; ev- 
ery store there has its special lesson. With 
a realism that approaches cruelty, the daily 
life and social habits of the Pompeians of 
the first century are laid bare as with the sur- 
geon's scalpel. The little city filled no place in his- 
tory. Its insignificance was so marked that the people 
of the neighboring towns overlooked its destruction, and 
an indifferent world waited seventeen hundred years be- 
fore beginning its exhumation. Three-quarters of the 
town are still underground. 

The best way to visit Pompeii is to drive along the 
Marinella to Portici, beyond which stood Herculaneum. 
It is a paved road the entire distance ; decorated with 
macaroni hung out to dry. Three hours in the buried 
city are ample. It stands upon a hill-side, three hundred 
feet above the sea, and you enter through an avenue 
made beautiful by plants and shrubbery. 

231 



232 



The Destiny of Doris 



We started early, and at the gate to Pompeii bought 
our tickets, at two lira each ; quite like taking places for 
a morning theatrical performance. We ascended a wind- 
ing slope, which might have led to an orange grove, but 
actually took us from the twentieth century directly into 
the first. Narrow alleys, similar to the older streets of 
Naples, on the stones of which were seen the deep im- 
prints of chariot wheels, conducted us past the Museum 
to the Forum, from which our walk over Pompeii began. 

Like Rome, this suburb of Naples had its open square, 
where its orators spoke, and its people met to discuss pol- 
itics and domestic life. How natural ! Hasn't every 
country-town in America or England its Common and 
its town pump, where the villagers assemble? The an- 
cients required a Forum. Around this one, the Oscans. 
built Pompeii, and the fierce Samnites who conquered it 
didn't interfere with the Temple of Justice or the 
churches, because they knew no justice but that of the 
sword, and no protecting divinity save their strong right 
arms. Pompeii was probably of Greek origin, because 
it possessed a temple to Hercules, undoubtedly Hellenic, 
and certainly built 650 B. C, — limiting the history of 
Pompeii to seven hundred years. During that time, it 
was besieged, sacked, and finally gathered under the pro- 
tecting wing of the Romans, who restored it (after the 
earthquakes of 63 A. D.) in time for its utter destruction, 
sixteen years later, when the ashes of Vesuvius, moist 
with scalding rain, sealed and preserved it. 

Ruin everywhere, but the ground-plans of the houses 
are always obvious. The dwellings were generally 
small, mostly of concrete or brick, without exterior 




STREET OF ABBONDANZA, SHOWING WELL AT 
LEFT, THAT LED TO ANCIENT AQUEDUCT, IN 
WHICH WATER IS STILL FLOWING 



234 



The Destiny of Doris 



adornment, windowless and devoid of modern comforts. 
The arrangement of the rooms was much alike : — a recep- 
tion hall, at the street door ; beyond, a salon that gave 
upon the mosaic-paved open court with its fountain and 
flowers ; at one side of this court the dining-hall, the 
kitchen in a corner, behind a screen, and mere niches for 
sleeping purposes (rarely protected from intrusion by 
doors). Like the thrifty Italian of to-day, the Pompeians 
often leased the ground floors of his dwelling for shops. 
The marble counters, across which the wares were sold, 
stand there to this hour. Street signs were rare, but 
political notices were common. Blank walls faced the 
thoroughfares in the poorer quarter, but such windows 
as opened on the streets were barred with iron, as in the 
continental cities of our time. 

The Pompeians have been maligned because several 
houses of evil repute existed in their town. These are 
always pointed out as characteristic of the people. The 
injustice of this need not be dwelt upon. Xew York is 
not to be judged by the "Tenderloin," or London by 
the Haymarket district ! 

Entering the Street of Fortune, we had a fine view 
of the volcano that destroyed Pompeii. There, too, 
stood many pedestals for the reception of statues never 
erected. On one side, was the Temple of Mercury, with 
its fine altar; on the other, the curia, or town hall, a 
Temple of Augustus, and a triumphal arch from which- 
the marble coating has been removed. Crossing the 
Forum, we ascended a few steps to the Temple of Ju- 
piter, and after contemplating its splendid propor- 



Ambition Dead and Buried 235 

tion's, no other public places of Pompeii particularly im- 
pressed us. 

"I am especially anxious to see the House of Glau- 
cus with which Bulwer has made us so familiar," said 




Mills for Grinding Maize, and Bake-oven in Which a Sucking Pig 
was Roasting at the Time of the Catastrophe 

Doris; "though I am sure nothing else can be so real 
as these ruts in the streets, left by the heavy wheels of the 
chariots." 

"More real by far was the cast of that poor woman's 
body we saw in the Museum," replied Mrs. Wentworth. 
"I heard her cry of agony ; I almost gasped for breath 
myself as I stood beside her." 

A short walk brought us to the House of the Tragic 



236 



The Destiny of Doris 



Poet, better known as the "House of Glaucus," having 
on the floor of its vestibule a copy of the famous black- 
and-white-mosaic watch-dog, and the words "Cave Ca- 
nem !" The original has been removed to the Naples 
Museum. This house abounds in mural paintings, hav- 
ing the Homeric poems for their subjects. Nearby 
stands the House of Pansa. Visitors to Saratoga are 
familiar with an exact copy of it. Its floors have been 
restored to their original condition in the days of the 
owner, and its gardens rilled with flowering plants. 

In the near neighborhood, is the House of Sallust, 
still containing frescoes of Greek and Roman divinities. 
Next door is a bakery, but not the oven, where the loaves 
of bread were found in the oven. On the same side of 
the street is "the Custom House," so-called because it 
contained scales and weights, and "the Surgeon's Office'' 
(wherein were scalpels), probably one of the oldest 
structures of the city ; for its fagade was of massive 
stones, set without mortar. 

Returning toward the center of the town, we called at 
the home of Meleager, exceptional in its decoration be- 
cause the Pompeian red is nowhere visible, but an inner 
colonnade is painted in two shades of brown and yellow. 
Not far away is a wine-shop ready for business, just as 
if its proprietor were absent at luncheon. 

The House of the Faun has always been regarded as 
the show-place of Pompeii, and must have been the home 
of a wealthy man ; for, when found, it contained exquisite 
art-treasures. It occupied an entire block and had a 
large garden. The owner's wine-jars had been filled 
just prior to the overwhelming calamity; and these en- 




HOUSE OF VETTI ; THE LATEST EXCAVATED (1901) 
CONTAINING SOME BEAUTIFUL STATUARY AND 
MURAL PAINTINGS. THE ROOF IS NEW 



23« 



The Destiny of Doris 



abled savants to fix the date of the destruction of Pom- 
peii. 

"The dead past" is a trite phrase, but at Pompeii it 
gets a new meaning. There the voice of the Past is 
heard as nowhere else, — not even at Philse or Karnak. 
At the Temple of Isis, on the Sacred Isle. I could see 
the priests moving about, and smell the burning flesh 
upon the sacrificial altar ; but at Pompeii I could hear 
voices, just around the corner, driving bargains in ses- 
terces. I was part of the real work-a-day existence of 
eighteen hundred years a-gone! 

"I am bewitched, — covered with a spell," whispered 
Doris to me. 

"The aristocracy of Pompeii let their basements for oil- 
and wine-shops, just as do the Dukes and Marquises of 
Rome at present. Fancy the Vanderbilt palace in New 
York with a bake shop in its basement!" chuckled Mr. 
Blake, as we walked across a muddy field to see the am- 
phitheatre where Glaucus was on the morning of the 
eruption. 

My thoughts were occupied by a curiosity to know 
what kind of houses we were treading upon. 

We listened for an echo of the past, which did not come. 

The National Museum at Naples is a supplement to 
Pompeii : to be studied after the City of Death; never be- 
fore. 

After luncheon, at a hotel outside the gate of Pompeii, 
we drove toward Naples as far as Resina, which occu- 
pies the site of Herculaneum. Its excavated ruins con- 
sist chiefly of a theatre, reached by a descent of 100 dark 



FORUM OF POMPEII, FROM THE TEMPLE OF 
JUPITER: HERE THE PEOPLE MET TO TALK. 
POLITICS AND TO GOSSIP 



240 



The Destiny of Doris 



steps into a vast, dismal, cellar-like auditorium, — the 
gloomiest of catacombs. 

Two three-horse carriages were engaged at Resina for 
the ascent of Vesuvius to the Hermitage, as the meter- 
ological observatory is called. Intent upon a serious con- 
versation with Mrs. Went worth, I arranged that Mr. 
Blake and Doris should occupy a conveyance to them- 
selves. 

The incidents of that ride cannot be recounted in detail. 
To hint at their importance to me, I feel would be almost 
craven. For the first time in more than a month Lou- 
ise Wentworth and I were alone together. During our 
stay in Egypt I never had been able to have a private talk 
with her. She was always courteous, but persistently 
evasive. 

Had not Blake's infatuation obscured his vision, he 
might have given me some of my own advice about 
creating opportunity. 

As the team slowly climbed the mountain, I made the 
most of my advantages. With the ardor of youth- 1 
urged my cause, but without success. 

"Doris occupies the first place in my heart at this mo- 
ment," Louise finally said. "Until she is married, I can- 
not even promise to return your affection, Mr. North." 

"But your daughter is engaged to marry Blake," I 
answered, almost desperately. 

"She is; and I thoroughly approve the match. But 
the unforeseen often happens. When Doris is Mrs. Ver- 
non Blake, you may renew this conversation, if you like. 
Let us change the subject ?" 

Though admirably built, the Government road is tor- 



STREET OF THE SEPULCHRES, AT POMPEII, 
ALMOST A REPLICA OF THE APPIAN WAY, 
OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF ROME 



242 



The Destiny of Doris 



tuous, and an hour was consumed before we reached its 
end, 1200 feet beyond the Hermitage, where additional 
tickets had to be bought, to proceed over a private way 
to the base of the cable line. 

During that carriage ride, we passed the vineyards of 
the "Lacrima Christi." 

The view of the sea from the mountain-side was nearly 
as fine as at Gibraltar. 

Entering the cars of the funicolari. we ascended 1.300 
feet in half a mile, across" iridescent lava-streams. 
Guides took possession of us at the end of this road, 
much as do the Bedouins at the Pyramid of Cheops. 
The final climb, through the cinders and slag, was ac- 
complished in fifteen minutes; but it was "a bad quarter- 
hour" for Blake and me. The ladies were carried up in 
chairs. A strong sea-breeze blew the sulphurous fumes 
eastward, and made safe our journey almost to the cra- 
ter's edge. A few extra lira induced two guides to take 
us men where we could look into the bowl of the vol- 
cano. Its bottom was crusted over except at two vividly 
red spots, whence issued vaporous flames like those from 
the top of a blast furnace. 

From the Hermitage we drove to Resina in one car- 
riage, and no opportunity occurred in which to renew 
niv conversation with Louise. Badly as I felt then, a 
careful review of the situation, during a long walk that 
night, in the moonlight and alone, restored my peace of 
mind. 

Bom of contemplation was a plan to hasten the wed- 
ding of Doris. I'd suggest to Blake, at the first oppor- 
tunity, that he insist on a wedding in Northern Italy. 



VESUVIUS, FROM THE HERMITAGE ; SHOWING THE NEW 
ROAD THAT FOLLOWS THE CREST OF A RIDGE TO THE 
CABLE RAILWAY (ERUPTION OF 1895) 



ST. PETER S AND TRAJAN S TOMB, FROM THE TIBER 



Chapter Seventeen 

Our Debt to Paganism 

WHEX we reached Rome, it wna's to visit two 
cities at the same time, — pagan and 
Christian. After beholding the vandalism 
of the Christians, we ceased to shudder 
at the brutalities of the Romans. Indeed, we experienced 
a sincere regret that Rome had not been sealed like Pom- 
peii, to preserve its ancient splendor for modern eyes. 
Only a meager idea can be formed of the real streets or 
the social customs of its people. The Colosseum, Arch 
of Titus. Baths of Caracalla, the Pantheon, and the 
Forum are practically all that remain of ancient Rome. 

A fast train, leaving Xaples shortly after noon, reaches 
the Eternal City at dinner-time, traversing a desolate 
and generally uninteresting country, if we may except the 
monastery of Monte Cassino, perched on a rocky crag 
where only the shadow of the Church can fall upon 
it. 

We landed at the new station with its fine fountain. 
244 



Our Debt to Paganism 



245. 



The ladies had secured a suite of apartments in an old 
palace in the Piazza Poli, Mr. Blake and I taking rooms 
at a neat little hotel nearby. Our agreement was to 
dine together every night at a restaurant in the Piazza, 
after which we were to take coffee at the popular Cafe 
of Rome on the Corso. More central habitations would 
have been impossible to find. 

For a long stay in Rome, lodgings are indispensable. 
Every house in Rome, excepting the palaces of the King, 
and those of the other members of the royal family, and 
that of the Pope and of the cardinals, if not 
a hotel, has its lodgers. Princes who drive 
four-in-hands, and whose wives are women-in-wait- 
ing at the court, have no compunctions to take 
whole families under their roofs. The splendid palaces 
of Borghese, Doria, and Barberini, with their magnifi- 
cent statuary and priceless galleries of pictures, have 
each of them tenants who actually pay rent to the noble 
landlords. Story, the American sculptor and poet, lived 
for years in the Barberini Palace. The Bonapartes at 
Rome, following the example of the natives, let lodgings 
at their villa, and at their city house, in which the mother 
of Napoleon I. died in 1836. The long street called the 
Via del Corso, extending from the Piazza del Popolo 
to the Piazza Venezia, is largely occupied by lodgers, 
the ground floors given up to shops. 

We prepared for a month's stay, including Holy Week. 

"Rome is one of the cities in which the services of a 
guide are indispensable," said Mrs. Wentworth. 
"Strangers do well to follow Baedeker's advice to spend 
the first day in a carriage along a route that he sug- 



246 



The Destiny of Doris 



gests. They thus gain a general idea of the city and 
its seven hills. After that, an intelligent guide should be 
engaged, and a week or more given to work. All this 
must be preliminary to subsequent examination in de- 
tail. Rome has 400 churches ! Let us examine a score 
of the most interesting and famous. Suppose we study 
the life and habits of the ancient Romans before we 
take up the moderns. Let us live as long as possible in 
the atmosphere of ancient Rome, not attempting to sep- 
arate the fabulous from the actual." 

"It isn't worth while," said I. "One kind of history 
is as good as another at Athens and Rome. The bar- 
barians who went about destroying records added to the 
scope of future historians. What the Gauls did for 
Rome 360 years after it was founded, Roman interfer- 
ence in the affairs of Egypt, 48 B. C, did for Alexan- 
dria." 

History is filled with battles that never were fought. 

In his preface to "The Lays of Ancient Rome," Mac- 
auley sums up the early history of the Eternal City, in 
a series of mental pictures : 

"Incidents that suggest themselves are the loves of 
the Vestal and the God of War, the cradle laid among 
the reeds of the Tiber, the fig tree, the she-wolf, the shep- 
herd's cabin, the recognition, the fratricide, the rape of the 
Sabines, the death of Tarpeia, the fall of Hostius Hos- 
tilius, the struggle of Mettius Curtius through the march, 
the women rushing with torn raiment and disheveled 
hair between their fathers and their husbands, the night- 
ly meetings of Numa and the Nymph by the well in the 
sacred grove, the fight of the three Romans and the three 



ANCIENT CITY OF AMALFI ; SCENE OF A RECENT 
LANDSLIDE. ONE OF THE QUAINTEST PLACES 
IN A LAND OF ROMANCE 



248 



The Destiny of Doris 



Albans, the purchase of the Sibylline books, the crime 
of Tullia, the simulated madness of Brutus, the ambigu- 
ous reply of the Delphian oracle to the Tarquins, the 
wrongs of Eucretia, the heroic actions of Horatius Codes, 
of Scaevola and of Clolia, the battle of Regulus, the de- 
fence of Cremera, the touching story of Coriolanus, the 
still more pathetic tale of Virginia, the draining of the 
Alban Lake, the combat between Valerius Corvus and 
the gigantic Gaul." 

Like the Biblical history of man, the story of ancient 
Rome began with the murder of Remus by his brother 
Romulus, and every page of its subsequent existence 
bears the blot of assassination and treachery. 

The Palatine, near the Colosseum, was the "west end" 
of the ancient city, where dwelt the aristocrats who made 
a fad of every vice, but trembled when the sacred chick- 
ens refused to eat. Lnder the Republic, as under the 
Empire, slaves were tortured to death. Senators were 
condemned to obliteration by the rulers, and the chiefs 
of State themselves were killed in cold blood whenever 
the people ceased to understand them. To be a Senator 
under Augustus was as dangerous as being a Congress- 
man of the United States during the days of Oakes Ames. 
As a mere pastime, Augustus one day sacrificed three 
hundred Senators. Escape from Rome was impossible, 
when the death of a statesman had been decreed. Had 
the railroad system and the fast steamboats of this age 
existed, things might have been different. Petronius of 
to-day, if ordered to open his veins, would probably take 
the first train for Paris,— that chosen place of refuge 
for the expatriated. 




CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO, THE TOMB OF TRAJAN: ONE OF 
THE GLORIES OF THE ANCIENT CITY, THAT HAS BEEN 
PRESERVED IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE 



250 The Destiny of Doris 



The Romans builded high and builded well. The 
few monuments that have "endured the flight of time 
and wasting storms" and Christian vandalism are worthy 
of sublimest admiration. They atone in some measure 
for the despicable characters of the Roman emperors, 
and, in the presence of the Arch of Titus and the Pan- 
theon, we cannot forget the picture of Caligula whisper- 
ing in the ear of Jupiter Capitolinus or recounting in his 
simpering idiocy the tale of his liaison with the moon. 

The most luxurious places of ancient Rome were the 
baths, if we may judge from the massive ruins of Titus 
and Caracalla, which give the most correct idea of the 
stupendous character of the architecture of the time. 

Rome had its Forum : for exactly the same reason as 
Pompeii. Love of country was the chief part of the 
pagan religion and oratory, by which patriotism was ex- 
ploited, and was so essential an art that even Augustus 
felt justified in an apology for a prepared address. The 
Romans had no home-life. Young men destined for pub- 
lic careers spent their time in the Forum listening to the 
harangues of orators. From earliest hours, the boys were 
taught to dispute among one another. Any time or 
place was fitting for a speech. 

In the social life of ancient Rome, woman had no 
place, her condition being much the same as that in which 
we found her at Tangier or Cairo. Slavery was the 
great blot on Rome, beside which all the maxims of Mar- 
cus Aurelius and Cato go for nothing, — because they saw 
no harm in it. The lives of the common people were in 
constant danger, and, as we have said, the same was 



ALL THAT IS LEFT OF THE ROMAN FORUM ; ONCE SUR 
ROUNDED BY THE CAPITOL AND OTHER PUBLIC BUILD 
INGS OF THE REPUBLIC AND THE EMPIRE 



252 



The Destiny of Doris 



true of the most distinguished participants in public 
life. 

Modern Rome is a modern city in spots. Unlike Cairo, 
where the line between the old and the new is drawn as 
with a scimiter, the Eternal City has been rebuilt at 
random. Hundreds of acres of devastated antiquity still 
await the rejuvenating hand of an Italian Haussmann. 
When we remember that Xew Italy is little more than 
thirty years of age, and that since that time Rome has 
been made the modern city she is, we must admit that 
much has been accomplished. The State is indebted to 
the Church for the protection of the priceless works of 
art that give Rome its chief attraction, but greatness 
never endured in a nation or a city dominated by religi- 
ous fanaticism. Architecturally, Rome has not advanced 
since the days of Michael Angelo. Its new public build- 
ings, of recent construction, cannot compare with those 
in other cities of Europe. Italy is poor, and her people 
are overtaxed ; outside Milan and Genoa, private capital 
does not seek investment in splendid structures. Rome 
possesses several fine avenues belonging to the new era, 
but her shops are not on a par with other cities of the 
kingdom. 

We passed a busy and interesting period in the Ital- 
ian capital. Mr. Blake was perhaps the most enthusias- 
tic member of the party, having been a classical student 
in college, but Doris was no less familiar than he with 
the Golden Age of Rome. The city was not new to Mrs. 
Wentworth or me, so the young people did much sight- 
seeing together. 

Mrs. Wentworth and I made a visit to Tivoli. We 




GRECIAN TEMPLE ON THE LAKE IN THE GARDENS 
OF THE VILLA BORGHESE : IN THIS PARK A GREAT 
SCENE IN "THE MARBLE FAUN" OCCURS 



254 



The Destiny of Doris 



went on a morning-train from the Porta San Lorenzo, 
and visiter! Adrian's Villa and the supposed country seats 
of Maecenas and his protege Horace. On the site 
of Maecenas" Villa stood an electric-light plant, and the 
Villa of Horace was a shabby place, in a site that the poet 
would never have endured for an hour. 

While we were seated under the trees of the Villa 
d'Este, I ventured to take Mrs. Wentworth's hand and 
to renew the assurances of my devotion. She listened 
with patience, but said : 

"You know my situation in life to the utmost detail, 
Mr. North. I have kept nothing from you. and you also 
understand that for the present I have entirely subordi- 
nated my happiness in this world to that of my child — " 

"But her future is assured." I hastened to interpose. 
"Air. Blake is worthy of her in every respect; he is a man 
of fortune and good sense.'' 

"When they are married, as I hope, possibly we may 
renew this subject, but for the present I again beg that 
it be dropped," and. to give an abrupt turn to the conver- 
sation, she drew from her pocket a translation of Hor- 
ace's Ode to Maecenas, made by Doris in what she de- 
scribed as "the Boston dialect of the American language." 
I took it from her hand, and, after reading, made this 
brief extract to indicate the new rendering : 

Ad Maecexatem. 

Scion from royal lineage sprung 

My guide, my friend when I was young: 



ROMAN YOUTH, DESCENDED FROM PATRICIAN ANCESTRY, 
WHO PAYS A DAILY VISIT TO THE MONUMENT OF RIENZI, 
LAST OF THE TRIBUNES, ON THE PINCIAN HILL 



256 



The Destiny of Doris 



The war of creeds, affairs of State, 
Better man than I must wait : 
As for me, though I be poor 
I am going in for Literatoor. 

"This is what Doris declares Horace meant to say in 
his first Ode," remarked Mrs. Wentworth. 

"We have a lot of people in the United States who are 
hugging themselves with the idea that they are descended 
from royal ancestry/' I suggested. "They 'go in for 
lit'rature' to the extent of supporting a magazine and 
publishing collections of pedigrees more complicated than 
those to be found in Lodge or Burke.'' 

"Yes, I have met some of those Americans who hanker 
after remote royal progenitors, but they always impress 
me as very ignorant people. How anybody with an un- 
tainted family history could claim to be descended from 
William the Conqueror, I fail to understand. There was 
a skeleton in his family before he was born, and a bar- 
sinister on his escutcheon afterward!" 

After a visit to the waterfalls in the Temple of the 
Sibyl, we drove four miles to the Villa of Hadrian, near 
Osteria, where we passed a pleasant hour and then took 
the tram back to town. 

Of Rome's many churches, the Pantheon is by far the 
most interesting. It was an ancient Roman temple, ded- 
icated to any and all gods, but its architecture was so 
sublime that Michael Angelo literally placed a copy of it 
under the dome of St. Peter's. Naples and Genoa have 
replicas of it. and Paris has built upon its lines a struc- 
ture as beautiful as the original. 



THE BEAUTIFUL FOUNTAIN OF TREVI, NEAR PIAZZA POLI, THE 
WATERS OF WHICH WERE MUSIC IN THE EARS OF MRS. 
WENTWORTH AND HER DAUGHTER, EVERY NIGHT 



258 



The Destiny of Doris 



So grand in its proportions is St. Peter's, that many 
visits are necessary for its appreciation. In lengthening 
the edifice, Michael Angelo destroyed the view of its 
graceful dome from the piazza in front of the cathedral. 
The church is best appreciated exteriorily at a distance, 
where it can be seen in its entirety. The Sistine Chapel, 
with its marvelous ceiling, is reached by a long stairway, 
the steps of which are easy as the flight of time. And 
the Vatican Galleries ! — what words of worthy comment 
can be written at this late day in praise of the Apollo, 
the Laocoon, the Dying Caul, and the paintings by Ra- 
phael, Guido, and Michael Angelo? 

Holy Week brought thousands of non-Catholics to 
Rome. Vast crowds attended church daily, not only at 
the basilicas of St. Peter, St. John di Laterano and Santa 
Maria Maggiore. but also at the lesser churches of the 
Jesuits and the Augustinians. We heard the Tenebrae 
sung at St. John di Laterano. Under the lofty dome of 
vSt. Peter's, mass was simultaneously celebrated daily in 
half a dozen chapels. Multitudes of people walked 
through the cathedral meanwhile, and conversed on all 
subjects; but the edifice is so huge that no interruption 
of services occurred. Religion leveled all ranks ; princes 
and paupers, soldiers and civilians, clergy and laity 
jostled each other. 

The celebration of Pontifical High Mass on Easter 
morning was witnessed by Mrs. Wentworth and her 
daughter, from seats secured through the aid of a long- 
while resident in Rome. The celebrant was the Cardinal- 
Archbishop of the Diocese. The congregation stood be- 
fore the main altar, in front of the tomb of St. Peter. 




THE COLISSEUM AND THE ARCH OF TITUS; 
THE LATTER IS THE MOST PERFECT AN- 
CIENT MONUMENT IN ROME 



26o 



The Destiny of Doris 



The mass was introduced by a flute-obligato solo from 
Weber's "Romanza," low and plaintive as a sorrowing 
soul. As the organ took up the theme and the air of 
the church became alive with harmony and sympathy, the 
celebrant and his attendant ascended the altar. Remov- 
ing his miter the Cardinal made a profound inclina- 
tion, and signed himself with the Cross. The choir 
broke forth into the Kyrie Elision, which on that occa- 
sion was Beethoven's Mass in C ; the succeeding Gloria 
was also sung to Beethoven's music. 

Facing the vast audience, the celebrant intoned the 
words, "Gloria In Excelsis Deo" and the choir filled the 
cathedral with a shout of praise. The Collect was then 
read ; next the Epistle, by one of the deacons. The 
Gradual was chanted by a special choir of priests, in 
Gregorian manner ; after which Adam's "Noel" was sung. 
The air, now heavy with perfume from a swinging 
censer, pulsated with the rythm of heavenly music. The 
Gospel was read by one of the deacons, very briefly; 
then the Credo, — the Cardinal advancing as he chanted, 
— "Credo in Unum Deum." 

For the Absolution, attendant deacons brought a golden 
ewer and a towel of lace. Descending from the altar, 
the officiating Cardinal washed his hands ; then, reas- 
cending, he began to chant in a clear and penetrating 
voice, "Promnia Saecula Saeculorum." All the bishops, 
priests, and acolytes responded. After the Canon was 
read, the Consecration followed, while the choir sang 
the "Agnes Dei." 

Three strokes of a bell, far away, told that the service 
was at an end. 



VILLA PALLAVICINI, AT PEGLI, ON THE WESTERN RIVIERA, NEAR GENOA 



Naples for the brief but delightful voyage that would 
end next day at the Ligurian seaport. "Milan, Lakes 
Como and Maggiori, Verona, Venice, Bologna, Flor- 
ence, Pisa, Mentone, and Monte Carlo are in easy reach." 

"Isn't this better than going up by rail?" asked Doris. 

"Much pleasanter," replied her mother. "We shall ar- 
range a circular tour from Genoa." 

"We haven't had a dull moment," was my comment. 
"I shall always be grateful that you suggested my going 
to Egypt, and in return I now invite you to be my guests 
for a trip to Monte Carlo. Will you all accept?" 

"I don't think that question need be put to a vote," an- 
swered Mrs. Wentworth. "We shall take you at your 
word. Do I speak for you, Mr. Blake?" 

261 



Chapter Eighteen 





E shall make Genoa our headquarters, from 
which we can visit the cities of the Riv- 
iera and Northern Italy," said Mrs. Went- 
worth, as our steamer left the Bay of 



262 



The Destiny of Doris 



"Yes, indeed," was his prompt reply. "I never have 
been at Monte Carlo, though I have seen 'the wheel go 
round' a few times at Long Branch and Saratoga." 

"We are not going there to gamble, but to study human 
nature," seemed the best way to dispose of his reference 
to the notorious occupation of most of the visitors to the 
Principality of Monaco. "Years have passed since I've 
been there, but, I assure you, the Casino and its grounds 
occupy the prettiest site on the Mediterranean." 

We enjoyed dinner on board ship after the long stay 
ashore. The night was quiet as a trip to Fall River. 
Blake and I occupied a stateroom together, had our 
coffee early, and were on deck to see the Island of Monte 
Cristo. Its desolate cliffs were interspersed with a few 
spots of green, but it was exactly such a place as the won- 
derful Dumas would have chosen for the treasure-cave 
of his hero Edmund Dantes. 

"Before the day is over, we shall cease to draw upon 
the realm of fiction," said I. "The romance of actual life 
will have far overshadowed the wildest imagination." 

"You refer to the Island of Elba, I suppose?" replied 
Blake. 

"Yes, we shall run close to Elba, and shall see the site 
of the toy 'palace' in which the puppet court of the de- 
throned monarch was held." 

Three hours later we stood at the port-rail, studying, 
the petty dominion that the Powers had mockingly con- 
ferred upon Napoleon after his abdication. The sight 
was disposed to render us very thoughtful. 

"How easy to understand the Emperor's return to 



A City of Palaces 263 

France and 'The Hundred Days,' after surveying that 
wretched, rocky isle !" exclaimed Mrs. Wentworth. 

"Look!" cried Doris, pointing to the mainland, then 
in plain view. "There is Italy ! Napoleon had named 
its kings! Resignation to such a fate as Elba was not 
to be expected of any man !" 




Picturesque Castle on an Islet of Ischia, Now Used as a Prison 



"I wonder if the Great Commander was not put there 
for humiliation rather than punishment ?" suggested Mrs. 
Wentworth. "It would have been worthy the brain of 
a Metternich or a Talleyrand to have subjected Napoleon 
to the same test as the Maid of Orleans. You remember 
how her armor was placed within reach, and how the 
technical violation of her oath was made the pretext for 



264 The Destiny of Doris 



the stake and fagot? Elba was a forethought of St. 
Helena !" 

"There stands the marble monument we expected to 
find," said Blake. "The building wherein Napoleon 
lived has disappeared." 

"Corsica, with its towering mountains, looms to the 
westward," said I. "In an eye-stroke, we have before 
us the Story of Xapoleon, from birth to banishment. 
There's nothing in the whole range of fiction that paral- 
lels his career." 

The Gulf of Genoa, on a bright afternoon, creates a 
mental picture that abides forever. The first sight of 
the City of Palaces is more impressive than that of 
Naples or Gibraltar. 

"This is a favorite place of mine," said Mrs. Went- 
worth, "and I suggest a famous old hotel that was once 
a convent. Its rooms are of mammoth proportions and 
its site is one of the best in Genoa. We shall be very 
comfortable, and the proprietor will take care of our 
heavy baggage while we are making the trips we pro- 
pose." 

Our first dinner was taken at a restaurant on the 
Heights of Castellaccio, reached by a funicolari from the 
center of the city. 

"From no other view-point can so clear a conception 
of the city and harbor be obtained," said Mrs. Went- 
worth, as she led us out on the broad veranda of the 
eyrie cafe. 

At our feet lay the busiest seaport of Italy. Far off 
to the right, amid a cluster of cypresses on the edge of 
a precipitous bluff, was the grave of James Smithson, 



GENOA, FROM THE RHIGI, WHERE THE MER- 
RY TRAVELLERS DINED AMONG THE BIRDS 
AND CLOUDS, AND GAZED SEAWARD 



266 



The Destiny of Doris 



endeared to every American by the endowment of the 
Institute at Washington bearing his name. Seaward, 
was the breakwater that has made Genoa one of the saf- 
est harbors in the world, — a gift of her citizen, the 
Duchess of Galliera, costing twenty million francs. To 
the east were the terraces of San Francesco d'Albaro. 
Our table was so placed that we could study the beauti- 
ful city of stately white houses, interspersed with parks, 
fountains, and broad avenues. 

"I say, Vernon," began Doris, turning to Blake, "you 
might charter a trolley car while you are here. I fear 
I shall want to spend most of my time on the Via Cir- 
comvallazione, which follows the crest of the hills." 

This produced a general smile. 

"I've already engaged an automobile, warranted to 
climb the side of a house/' was Blake's quick reply. 
"But, of course, you can have the car if you prefer it." 

"Telemachus might have said of Genoa, as he did of 
Ithaca: 'It isn't much of a place for horses,' " I chimed 
in, knowing Blake's fondness for the classics. 

"He didn't know what he was talking about," retorted 
Blake. "I was at Ithaca myself four years, and kept a 
horse during my sophomore and junior years." 

"Oh ! you mean a 'college-pony !' " exclaimed Doris. 
"Tell -us 'all about it." 

"It's a sad story," was the reply, with affected gravity. 
"He was a noble animal : I imported him myself. Wc 
sophomores had been cantering easily across the green 
meadows of Xenophon's 'Memorabilia,' when the Master 
of the Hunt, who pretended to be Professor of Greek, 
thought our pace too gentle, and suddenly swerved into 



CASTLE ON THE HEIGHTS BEHIND GENOA: 
AN ELECTRICAL ROAD FOLLOWS THE 
CREST OF THESE HILLS 



268 



The Destiny of Doris 



another field called '.Eschines on the Crown.' I 
couldn't go that any better than the rest of my class- 
mates. New York was searched in vain, but the particu- 
lar kind of horse needed for the rocky syntax couldn't be 
bought. I cabled to London, and in ten days my pet, 
my prince of horse-flesh, arrived ! For six months I 
rode him every morning across the barbed-wire fences 
of the ablative-absolute and the sloughs of irregular 
verbs. Though he never bucked, we sometimes fell to- 
gether, but he'd always wait for me to regain my pres- 
ence of mind." 

"How very pathetic!'' commented Doris. "What be- 
came of him?" 

"I refused to sell him, but gave him to a loving master 
in the class below me. I preferred that he have a trusty 
keeper. My old college-pony is still alive, — my noble 
yEschines !" 

"It was 'a horse" on the Greek professor, sure enough," 
said I. 

The dinner was delightful in every detail, and we de- 
scended from the dizzy height, as we might have taken 
a toboggan slide in Kansas City. 

"The guide books treat Genoa very unfairly," said 
Blake, when we assembled for dejeuner next day. "A 
great deal can be said about it. Like Florence, it was a 
stronghold before Romulus and Remus ascended the 
Tiber. It contains one of the quaintest little churches 
of Italy, built by the Crusaders." 

"Doris and I went to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo 
this morning," said Mrs. Wentworth. "It is a long, 
narrow edifice, with a fine fagade of twisted columns, and, 



WEALTHY GENOESE TAKE A CHEERFUL VIEW OF DEATH 
AT THEIR CAMPO SANTO. KEY IN HAND THIS SCULP- 
TURED FIGURE IS ENTERING HER OWN TOMB 



The Destiny of Doris 



unlike most Gothic churches, is without a nave to give it 
the form of a cross. Its alternating layers of black and 
white marble recall the Duomo in Florence." 

We passed the afternoon at the Campo Santo, unques- 
tionably the most interesting cemetery in the world. 
Nearly every monument is a work of art, and vast sums 
of money have been expended on the enormous structure 
that contains the vaults. Only the poor are buried in 
the ground. The tomb of Mazzini, on an eminence, is 
simple though massive in proportions. 

"I was living in Genoa when this woman died," began 
Mrs. Wentworth, as she stopped before the statue of a 
peasant woman surmounting a grave in one of the most 
costly parts of the cemetery. "The event occasioned 
much talk. A fruit-seller, she had risen from very humble 
birth to considerable wealth. She owned houses and lands, 
but continued her avocation. One day she was stricken 
with what was believed to be fatal illness. Her relatives 
assembled at her bedside, and, supposing her already dead, 
quarreled over the division of her property. She had 
heard everything ; and, regaining her faculties, she drove 
them from the house. Her first act, after leaving 
her bed, was to come here and select this site for a tomb. 
She then engaged one of the best sculptors in Liguria, 
and gave him sittings for this statue, especially enjoin- 
ing him to preserve her peasant-garb. She wished to 
humble the vanity of her relatives and to spend every lira 
she possessed ! The monument was set up before her 
death, and she often came to admire it. The vault cost 
her forty thousand lira, and the statue as much more!" 



GENOA, FROM THE CUSTOM HOUSE, SHOWING 
THE ESPLANADE AND LEVEE : HEIGHT OF 
HILLS BEHIND AVERAGES 1,200 FEET 



272 



The Destiny of Doris 



"She certainly carried her revenge to the verge of 
the grave," added Doris. 

"Although there are several monuments here embody- 
ing artistic thoughts, there is nothing so horribly realistic 
as that famous monument in St. Paul's, London, where 
the figure of death is dragging the body of the deceased 
into a tomb/'* said Mrs. Wentworth. 

"Let's go and dine at the Righi again! Didn't we 
have enough of tombs and ghastly sepulchres in the 
Nile Valley?"' persisted Blake. 

In half an hour we were seated at the lofty perch 
overlooking, what Blake, in his admiration, denominated, 
"The Hunki-Doria City." 

The generosity of her citizens has provided Genoa 
with two highly interesting art-collections, found in the 
Palaces Rosso and Bianco. In the former, are exquisite 
Van Dycks, especially his portrait of the founders of 
the Brignoli-Sale family, whose descendants gave these 
two buildings and their contents. In the Rosso is the 
handsomest mirror in Italy. Several private galleries 
are well worth seeing, notably those in the Doria, Du- 
razzo-Pallavicini and Balbi-Senarega Palaces. Many 
fine examples of Rubens, Van Dyck, Guido, Titian, and 
Paulo Veronese are on those walls. Houses in which 
Byron lived and Daniel O' Conn ell died are marked with 
tablets. 

Blake and I ran down to Pisa one morning to see the 
leaning tower. We snapped this view from the train, 
showing the Cathedral, baptistry, and leaning bell-tower. 

Excursions were made to Pegli on the west shore, and 
Nervi on the east. The splendid gardens of the Mar- 



A City of Palaces 



273 



quis di Pallavicini, at the former suburb, contain spec- 
imens of every tree that grows in Europe, and an artifi- 
cial grotto, embellished with stalactites and stalagmites 
brought from caves of Spain and Austria. Nervi is a 
replica of Capri or Amain, done in the modern villa- 
style. The palm tree (Femex sylvestrix) thrives at Pegli, 




Cathedral, Baptistry, and Leaning-tower at Pisa: the Tower 
is of Carrara Marble,— a Jewel of Architecture 

where its branches take the color of the waves of the sea. 
I was assured by the owner of a beautiful garden filled 
with them, that the palm needed no cultivation there, 
and would endure snow after the fifth year. It will live 
where the cold does not exceed io° Centigrade. 
Why are there no palms at Old Point Comfort ? 



GENERAL VIEW OF THE PRINCE OF MONACO'S DOMAIN 



Chapter Nineteen 

The World of Chance 

THE journey into the sunshine at Monte Carlo 
is almost subterranean. There are thirty 
tunnels between Genoa and Ventimiglia ! 
Hungry for daylight, we stopped over a 
train at this frontier town, and enjoyed the famous view 
of the Mediterranean from its terrace at the citadel ; then 
we proceeded to j\ lent one, and drove about that bower of 
roses for a couple of hours. The beautiful town nestles 
m a cove, that protects it from the blasts of winter, but 
renders it very warm in summer. 

Monte Carlo is only ten minutes' ride from Mentone, 
and before eight o'clock we sat down to dinner in the 
most frivolous and picturesque of all cities of Europe. 
Our hotel was on the esplanade, near the Casino, where 
we could study the rapid life that moved about us. The 
Principality owes everything it possesses to the gambling 
corporation, which maintains the Casino and gardens. 
Every extravagance and luxury that money can provide, 

274 



The World of Chance 275 



is m evidence. Under the Casino-roof is an opera 
house, dainty as a jewel-case, and perfect in its acoustic 
properties. The foyer to the play-rooms is rendered im- 
posing by a fine row of columns. From it a door admits 
the public to the salons. 

Crowds of forty or fifty persons surround each of the 
tables. Many visitors are merely spectators : their faces 
evince only curiosity. Some of the players are indiffer- 
ent to loss or gain ; but worse specimens of greedy hu- 
manity do not exist. Handsomely gowned women from 
all parts of Europe are elbowing one another for seats. 
The spectacle is not attractive. Even less pleasant is it 
to comprehend that respectable women come to study and 
imitate their sisters of another world. 

We joined the throng about one of the fascinating 
wheels, and were present when a well-known New York 
speculator, known by the frigid title of "The Ice King," 
made an attack upon the roulette table, a fact widely 
chronicled by the French and American press. Being 
unacquainted with the language, he requested that a 
croupier be assigned to him who spoke English. This 
was easy, as several British and American employees are 
attached to the establishment. He secured a seat from 
a woman for a few Napoleons, and, with "Dr. Jack 
Martingale, of Saratoga," at his side, he changed a bundle 
of bank-notes into gold. He was methodical as an ac- 
countant; cold as the staple that he monopolized in his 
own land. 

"What's the last number out ?" he asked. 

"Fifteen," replied Martingale. 

"Has anybody kept a tab?" was the next inquiry. 



276 



The Destiny of Doris 



A pale-visaged man across the table evidently under- 
stood his words ; for he held up a sheet of paper contain- 
ing figures. 

"Ask him what he wants for it," said the Ice King to 
Martingale. 

"One louis," the stranger answered for himself, in 
English. 

Tossing a gold piece across the board, the American 
took up the sheet. Here is a copy of the "tab," showing 
the action of the machine, reading downward on each 
column : 



18 


20 


8 


3i 


3 


30 


2 


33 


23 


7 


33 


13 


3i 


5 


24 


30 


34 


7 


20 


35 


10 


29 


11 


23 


26 


1 


11 


30 


19 


15 


28 


17 


3i 


28 




27 


15 


6 


7 


4 


36 


26 


36 


19 


32 


11 


36 


30 





6 


34 


34 





7 


22 


1 


17 




36 


24 


2 


22 


7 


17 


1 


28 


12 


2 


17 


5 


27 


7 


17 


36 


34 


17 


7 


36 


23 


6 


36 


30 


3i 


6 


34 


15 


27 


7 


24 


3 


18 


9 


14 


6 


23 


19 


25 


22 


36 


4 


19 


1 


4 


21 


22 


32 


9 


4 


16 


36 


36 


26 


32 


12 


19 


13 


10 



Studying the tabulated score, the New Yorker thus self- 
commented : — "One hundred and seventeen rolls, — scarce- 
ly enough to give me a line on the wheel ; but sixes and 
sevens are 'running'; 17, 31, 7, 1, and 19 have 'repeated/ 
Seven has won thrice in succession, — that's enough for 




THE THEATRE AND CASINO AT MONTE CARLO, 
SURROUNDED BY ONE OF THE MOST BEAU- 
TIFUL GARDENS IN EUROPE 



278 



The Destiny of Doris 



big money. And it has appeared eight times, or once in 
every fourteen plays. That's quite often. The 'neigh- 
bors' don't appear to be in favor. Number One succeeds 
36, and 36 follows 1. And, by Jupiter! the same thing 
occurs in the third column. Then the wheel goes on a 
racket into another series. But, notice the sixth column ! 
The ball runs into the third dozen six out of thirteen 
times. The last column is significant of nothing except 
the transcendent run of 7 ; the multiples of it do not 
appear, nor can we divide any of the other numbers by 
the magic digit. What has just rolled? Oh! you've 
been keeping the numbers, Martingale? I see — 24, 14, 
3. 22, 34, 3 — " 

"Thirty-four, and red," whispers Martingale, as the 
ball falls' 

"If that series will continue for five minutes, I'll make 
this wheel tired," and Martingale is instructed to place 
the wager thus : 

"Four louis each on 22, 24, 15 and 3 ; 'star' the 5 ; 'split' 
17 and 20 for five louis ; play 34, to repeat for what you 
• like." ' 

The perverse wheel shies the ball into an entirely new 
field. 

"Six," is the laconic remark of the croupier. Before 
the Ice King had received the seventeen golden louis 
won a chcval 5-6, he examined the "tab" to see what 6 
had previously done. Four had followed it once ; 36, 14 
and 24 at other times. 

"Number 4 ought to be good. Thirty-six is in the 34- 
35-36 row. Now for it ! Play the 4-5-6 and 34-35-36 
rows for a thousand francs each ; a 500-franc note on 



INTERIOR OF THE GRAND SALON 
IN THE CASINO, SHOWING THE 
ROULETTE TABLES 



280 



The Destiny of Doris 



14 and another on 24. If the wheel will run kindly! It 
does! "The house loses and the gentleman wins' — " 

"Twenty-four!" exclaimed Martingale, adding in a 
low voice, "You win seventeen thousand five hundred 
francs." 

The Ice King didn't have to be told. He could have 
''paid" as well as any croupier at that table. 

"Yes ; I lose 2,500 francs, — 15,000 net winning. Now, 
Martingale, I want to get every louis they will let me 
wager on 36 and 3. The o is worth a hundred, as a 
saver." 

"They'll let you play 1,000 francs flat, 2,000 a cheval, 
3.000 on a row, 5.000 on the third column and 10,000 
on the color.'"' 

"Not on the color, that isn't roulette. A thousand, 
flat, on 3 and 36 : 2,000 on the line between 33-36 and the 
same on 35-36 ; 3.000 on row 34-35-36. Make it 500 on 
the zero. Leave my bet on 24. It may repeat. Thunder, 
I can still play the last dozen for a thousand. If — " 

"Thirty-six! You win again." 

Xot a muscle of the American's face changes. He 
takes up a card and begins to calculate : — "On 36, I win 
35.000 francs, plus 34.000 a cheval and on the last dozen 
5,000, total 74.000 francs, nearly $15,000." 

It was the greatest coup of the season. 

Instead of stopping, the Ice King determines that the 
table shall suspend for the day — an invariable rule fol- 
lowed whenever 200.000 francs are lost by one set of 
croupiers. He actually believes he can do it ! The 
American is fully $10,000 ahead, deducting all his losses. 
But he cannot quit. Therein lies the real percentage in 



MONTE CARLO, LOOKING TOWARD MENTONE, FROM 
THE GARDENS OF THE CASINO. THE CORNICE ROAD 
IS AT THE BASE OF THE CLIFFS 



282 



The Destiny of Doris 



favor of the bank. Several of the other tables are de- 
serted 'by players who comescurrying across the waxed 
floor to watch ''the plunger," and to get a bet down on 
one of his lucky squares. The Ice King is a changed 
i man. He is feeding on success. Alany of the bills be- 
fore him are crisp and bright as the new money one gets 
in Washington. He places them on the table, fearlessly. 

''Thirteen in the black," said Martingale, from force 
of American habit. The French croupier never mentions 
the color. He will bar the zero if you want to play the 
red and black only. 

"Nobody wins !" exclaims a bystander, as the croupiers 
rake and push the notes and gold from all parts of the 
table. The Ice King has lost 5,000 francs. 

"Thirteen has only appeared three times in a hundred 
and fifty rolls, — a slow and unlucky number," he mut- 
ters. Again, with Martingale's assistance, he scatters 
his money about the table. It seems impossible that he 
can have overlooked the winning number. Finally, he 
tosses 500 francs on each of the threes, 3, 23, 33, having 
already an equal amount upon 13, in the hope that it will 
"repeat." 

"Seventeen wins." 

Nothing for the big player. What a run of black! 
Were the Ice King content with even money, he might 
be winning, not losing; but thirty-five to one is the 
odds he demands. He is now wagering 5,000 francs on 
every turn of the wheel, and has lost more than half his 
winnings. Seventeen is one of the banner-numbers of 
the night. It has "repeated," and his code of supersti- 
tion leads the plunger to believe it may do so again. 



DRIVEWAY, UNDER THE BATTLEMENTED 
WALLS OF OLD MONACO ; PALACE OF THE 
PRINCE UPON THE HEIGHTS 



284 



The Destiny of Doris 



The 17-20 looks like an admiral's flag! It is "starred" 
and "buttoned" and "braced on the row;" it is played 
"flat" for 1,000 francs, and its "neighbors"' on the wheel 
are protected. 

The dealer is a trifle nervous and drops one ball on the 
floor. Another is supplied. Tr-r-r-r-r-r — the ball is 
rolling. Everybody at the table awaits the decision with 
breathless anxiety. Now, the ball is tumbling, — rat-tat- 
tat-snap-rat-tat — 

"Seventeen in the — white!" Martingale is flurried 
for the first time in all his career. But the player is 
as cold as his own ice. 

"Umph! Exactly 63,500 francs," is his comment. He 
had figured it out before the ball fell. 

A look of blank amazement is on the faces of the croup- 
iers at this table. They care nothing about the money, 
but they are alarmed to see that so old a knight of the 
gaming-table as "Doc Martingale has lost his nerve. 

"Seventeen is never in the white," they mutter, and 
the old croupier slips out of the Casino, ' across to the 
Restaurant de Paris to brace up on cognac. 

The Ice King has regained his losses by one bold dash. 
Will he stop now? Never! It is so easy to win, he 
thinks for the moment. Some louis d'or are knocked off 
the table. The money-mad man doesn't even look for 
them. He says in English, after he has placed his money, 

"I'm fixed ; you can't beat me !" 

"Numh'o trois!" calls a new croupier, mechanically. 
The Ice King doesn't understand the French, but he 
sees the ball go into 3. Nothing for him ! Every franc 
he had wagered is lost ! The ball is perverse as a balky 



VIEW OF THE CASINO GARDENS, SHOWING 
THE CELEBRATED DOUBLE ROW OF PALMS 
AND THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



286 



The Destiny of Doris 



mule. He can't guess its decision. The voice of the 
dealer has taken on the timbre of retribution. It names 
all numbers but the right one. 

"Why doesn't he stop?'' whispers Mrs. Wentworth, 
almost agonized. 

"Stop! How little you know about the passion of 
gambling,'"' I replied. "No ; he must go on ! Tell a man 
in the Niagara rapids to come ashore, but never expect 
a roulette player who has made a heavy loss to quit. 
He cannot \" 

Having exhausted all the gold and bank-notes in front 
of him, the American reaches deeply in his pockets for 
more money. He knows he is sure of a heavy loss ; but 
he cannot quit. He has forgotten the "tab" he prized. 
Cool as he looks, the man is in another existence — in 
hell, if found on earth. The cynicism of his smile is that 
of Satan himself ! The loss of money doesn't cause it, 
but chagrin at defeat, at failure. 

Cold beads of perspiration are on the Ice King's brow. 
Xo ''system," no "neighbors" or "multiples" for him. 
He chases the wheel, and it outstrips him. The ball 
rolls slowly, but dodges his numbers. Again, and yet 
again, the table is cleared of the debris of gold coin 
and French bank-notes : a few louis are won occasionally 
on the line or on the row ; but to place a wager success- 
fully seems impossible. The American holds up his 
hand for delay. He makes another "plunge." He 
throws money on the "lay out" until he hears the words, 
"Nothing more goes!" Then he waits, and the ball falls 
— into zero. He has overlooked the o ! He has now lost 
$20,000, in addition to all his winnings. 



SAN REMO, A BOWER OF FLOWERS 
AND ORCHIDS ; ONE OF THE PRETTIEST 
PLACES ON THE RIVIERA 



288 



The Destiny of Doris 



We followed the dethroned king to the moonlighted 
terrace. His mistake had been in playing the numbers 
as they are arranged on the wheel in America. The or- 
der at Monte Carlo is wholly different. Had he wagered 
on the "neighbors" as there found, he could have won 
instead of lost. He knew the American wheel too well. 

At Monte Carlo the thirty-six numbers are in this or- 
der, to the right of zero: — 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 
34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 
31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26. 

"Gaze upon that fairy palace," said I ; "behold these 
sparkling fountains, these flowering plants, this reckless 
extravagance that surrounds us, and answer me, 'How 
could he win?' " 

Next morning the subsidized Paris newspapers con- 
tained pretty tales by wire, entitled: 

"The American Ice King breaks the Bank at Monte 
Carlo." 

Such is the game of roulette, and such is the fate of its 
devotees. To win is not so difficult ; but to resist the 
wild impulse to ruin the establishment is impossible. 

Across a gorge from the Casino rises a solitary rock 
known as "Old Monaco," where is the palace of the 
Prince, guarded by a squad of soldiers that constitute 
his army. The Principality is hardly larger than the 
flag that floats from the palace-roof. The Cornice road, 
half-way up the mountain-side, marks the landward limit 
of the dominion. 

"Monte Carlo resembles one of those toy towns that 
were my delight in childhood," said Mrs. Wentworth, 
as we ascended by a cable road to a mountain-height 



OLD MONACO, ON ITS ROCKY HEIGHT: THE WHITE 
PALACE IS IN THE CENTRE, AND THE GAMBLING 
CASINO IS SEEN FAR THROUGH THE TREES 



290 



The Destiny of Doris 



on the north. "Its yellow block-houses, with their pink 
tile roofs, and trees that might be made of curled shav- 
ings stained with green wax, sustain the illusion." 

"Yes, but here is the blue Mediterranean," answered 
Doris. "You never found that in any box of toys. To 
me it is the most beautiful thing here." 

"The scenery is very rugged at Monte Carlo," mused 
Mrs. Wentworth. 

"So it is, — in the salons of the Casino," replied Blake. 

As the moth goes back to the flame, so returned we to 
the gambling-rooms next day. By mutual agreement, 
we limited ourselves to a loss of one hundred francs. 
Mr. Blake had some luck. He won several coups by 
playing Miss Wentworth's age. 

A well-groomed American bowed to him across the 
table: "Hello, Vernon!" 

"Hello, Tracy! Any luck?" 

"None whatever," was the reply. 

"Poor Tailback," commented Blake, as we left the 
salon. "He's been up against a worse game than this 
for years." 

"What can that be ?" we all asked, in the same breath. 
"Paying alimony," retorted Blake. 



Milan's cathedral is the dominating feature 



Chapter Twenty 

Home of the Lombard Kings 

WONDERFUL Milan!" is the phrase. The 
Lombard kings of to-day are the masters 
of trade in Italy! Milan is growing in 
population and wealth at a rate that rivals 
Chicago. Shaded avenues extend for miles along the 
edge of its mediaeval moat. Its city-wall and massive 
gateway are the only reminders of antiquity. Although 
slightly smaller in population than Naples and Rome, 
its thrift is indicated on every hand. 

The focus of commercial and public life in Milan is 
the Piazza del Duomo, where stands the Cathedral, one 
of the wonders of the world. 

"Mother and I came up from Genoa underground," 
said Doris, when I rejoined the Wentworth party at 
Milan. "The first twenty-five miles were through tun- 
nels one nine kilometers in length ; but Milan is worth 
the trouble. Its Cathedral is lace-work in stone. I felt 
the same kind of an awe-invoked shiver that I experi- 

291 



292 



The Destiny of Doris 



enced at Karnak, but there the comparison ended. The 
beautiful Duomo is living art; the Egyptian temples be- 
long to a dead and buried school." 

"Did you climb to the top of the Cathedral?" was my 
first question. 

"Ask mamma!" was the reply. "She protested at ev- 
ery landing, and, afraid I'd get lost among the spires 
on the roof, she followed, red of face and breathing 
hard, but vigilant. Finally, we arrived at the roof. I 
confess I went to see Napoleon's statue as a Greek hero. 
It is atop the sixth pinnacle from the front, midway up 
the west side of the roof, not at the eaves. It is Napo- 
leon's face, especially his nose and chin, but the body is 
that of an athlete, which Napoleon w 7 as not. He was 
called 'Puss in Boots' by ladies who didn't like him. 
When I pointed out the statue to my mother, she gazed 
at it intently for a few minutes. 'Quite modest!' was 
her comment. Assuming she referred to the statue it- 
self, I explained that the draperies were held about the 
body by the Greek athletes until entering a contest of 
strength or valor, when they were cast aside. 'Oh! I 
didn't mean that,' she rejoined. 'I was surprised Napo- 
leon hadn't assigned himself to the top of the central 
pinnacle.' " 

"What most impressed you about the Duomo?" I in- 
quired. 

"Religiously, the absence of the Cross," was Doris' 
prompt rejoinder. "Except the emblem in the right 
hand of the Christ, atop the central tower, I did not 
observe a cross anywhere on the outside of the Cathe- 
dral." 



NAPOLEON'S STATUE, AS A GREEK HERO, 
ATOP THE MILAN CATHEDRAL : A BIT OF 
MODEST SELF-GLORIFICATION 



294 



The Destiny of Doris 



We went to the refectory of Santa Maria della Gra- 
zie, and studied "The Last Supper" of Leonardo da 
Vinci. The suppressed monastery is now a cavalry bar- 
rack, though the long room containing this immortal 
work is preserved in all its original gloominess. "The 
Last Supper" occupies the end wall of the apartment 
farthest from the door, and is in a deplorable condition. 
Xo living artist can restore it. Despite the ravages of 
time, the emotions that the master intended to express 
are still apparent upon the faces of the Saviour and his 
Disciples. The idealized portrait of Christ is sympa- 
thetic and forgiving to the highest degree, though the 
artist has chosen the moment in which He exclaimed, — 
''And yet, one of you shall betray me!" Protestations 
almost can be heard issuing from the lips of the Apos- 
tles. John is the calmest man at the table. Judas "'doth 
protest too much.'" Peter, probably under suspicion be- 
cause of previous repudiations, displays excellent tact. 
He makes only one firm denial. In this marvelous pic- 
ture, the development of Italian art attained its per- 
fection. The exquisite equilibrium of the whole compo- 
sition is not disturbed by the completeness of the indi- 
vidual groups. The spectator's eye focuses itself natur- 
ally upon the central figure, and his mind absorbs the 
thrill of indignant surprise so clearly agitating the Apos- 
tles. 

Music is inhaled with the air in Lombardy. 

If Leonardo failed to make Milan a center of Art dur- 
ing the Rennaisance, Verdi recently established Music 
there so firmly that it cannot be dethroned. La Scala 
was the scene of his greatest triumphs. His gaunt fig- 




INTERIOR OF ROOM IN CAVALRY BARRACKS, REFRECTORY 
OF SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIA, SHOWING THE POSITION 
OF LEONARDO'S IMMORTAL PICTURE 



296 The Destiny of Doris 

ure, surmounted by its slouch hat, was known to every 
street urchin of the Lombard capital. Before his death, 
he built and endowed a home for aged musicians, after 
the plan of the Forrest Home, near Philadelphia. This 
red-brick structure is outside the city-walls, near the 
gate of Magenta. It surrounds an open court in which 
are a fountain and plants. Verdi's body rests there, but 
the place is not open to visitors, who would be glad to 
lay a flower upon his tomb. 

In a direct line across the city from the Verdi Home, 
is the white marble Arch of Peace, begun for the Foro 
Bonaparte, in 1806, and completed under the Austrian 
domination, in 1838. Its use to-day seems to be com- 
memorative of the triumph of the allied armies of Na- 
poleon III. and Victor Emanuele over the Austrians. 
The conflicting inscriptions are amusing. 

The Arena, erected in 1805 by Napoleon, is one of the 
most commodious grounds for athletic games in Europe. 
Like the amphitheatre at Verona, it is fashioned after the 
Roman Colosseum, and will readily seat twenty thou- 
sand people. 

The "Italian lakes," two of which are largely Swiss, 
are the villa-sites of the Milanese aristocracy. Lake 
Como is only an hour and a quarter distant, and can be 
reached almost any time of the day. Therefore, leaving 
their hotel early, Mrs. Wentworth and her daughter ran 
up to the Town of Como, where they took a steamer on 
the lake to Bellagio, a beautiful little hamlet of 800 in- 
habitants at the top of a wooded promontory that 
separates the Lake of Como from the Lake of Lecco. 



THE WONDER OF THE MODERN WORLD, THE 
DUOMO AT MILAN : THE SPLENDID ARCADE OF 
VICTOR EMANUELE IS SEEN ON THE LEFT 



29S 



The Destiny of Doris 



Como is identical in shape with Lake Itasca, in Minne- 
sota. 

During- the afternoon, the ladies made the ascent of the 
Monte San Primo * 5-550 feet i with a guide, passing 
a series of villas unequaled anywhere except along 
the Posilipo road at Naples or at Paradiso on the 
heights above Lake Lugano. Next day they crossed the 
lake to Menaggio. where a tram was waiting to take 
them eight miles to Porlezza. on the Lake of Lugano, 
crowded with scenery of grander but more somber char- 
acter. Taking passage down the lake, they had luncheon 
on the steamer, and in an hour entered Switzerland at 
Oria. The remainder of the short voyage was amid 
heroically beautiful scenery. Lugano was reached at 4 
o'clock ; a cable road carried the ladies up the mountain- 
side a mile to the St. Gothard railway, whence an express 
returned them in three hours to the Central Station in 
Milan. 

"Two days of an exhilarating outing." said Mrs. Went- 
worth. 

"And another gonfalon in my collection, the Flag of 
'Peace and Good Will to Man." — the Flag of Switzer- 
land." added Doris, with fervor. 

This did not exhaust the possible excursions from 
Milan. While the ladies were at the lakes. Mr, Blake 
and I went to Lodi. 20 miles down the railway toward 
Bologna. We walked across the bridge that spans the 
Adda, the scene of Xapoleon's personal bravery on May 
10th. 1796. The bridge is not the same, stone for stone, 
but the spot is identical, and the emotions aroused are 
thrilling. 



Home of the Lombard Kings 299 

"I once had a conversation at a public dinner with a 
poet regarding the comparative merits of prose and 
poetry," said Mr. Blake, as we stood leaning against the 
parapet. "I had ventured the rather broad and bold as- 
sertion that nothing had ever been said in verse that 




The Jolly Wine-cart Driver of Lombardy 

couldn't have been better said in prose, when a stranger 
at the dinner-table took issue and exclaimed : 

" 'What nonsense ! How would you say, 'On, Stan- 
ley, on ! Charge, Chester, charge ?' " 

"I was nearly 'knocked out,' but Abbott's 'Napoleon/ 
my delight as a boy, saved me. 'I wouldn't say it,' was 
my retort. 'I'd work up to a situation like that of Na- 
poleon on the Bridge at L,odi, and use his words, 'Follow 



3oo 



The Destiny of Doris 



Me!' Can you imagine a halt in the face of an enemy 
while the commander orders a cavalry charge in poetry ?' 
Of course he couldn't * and I silenced him, though he was 
not convinced." 

"You didn't beg the question, Mr. Blake. You 
changed the proposition," was my comment. 

"I know that; and my opponent doubtless realized it 
after he reached home, but I apparently won. I don't 
know what Napoleon said on the spot where we stand, 
but he did the right thing. He took this bridge!" 

A steam tram gave us a charming ride to Pavia, where 
we rambled through its beautiful Cathedral, containing 
Bonino's sumptuous Area di Sant' Agostino, adorned 
with 290 sculptured figures of saints. We returned to 
Milan in time to attend a special performance at La 
Scala, rarely opened now-a-days. The old opera house 
lost its prestige when the monument of Leonardo da 
Vinci was erected in its small plaza. 

"That is a great statue," commented Blake, as we 
strolled past it into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele to 
get coffee before going to our hotel. "A pretty idea, — to 
group around old Leonardo his most famous pupils." 

Mr. Blake said he had business in Paris. He went by 
the St. Gothard, across Switzerland, taking the new and 
delightful Lloyd Express, that leaves Genoa at noon, 
reaches Milan late in the afternoon, is at Basle (the rail- 
road clearing-house, or Clapham Junction of Europe) at 
midnight, and Bremen at 1 o'clock next day — crossing 
the continent in 25 hours ! This "flyer" makes direct 
connection for Paris and Cherbourg, and is the fastest 
train from Northern Italy. 



STATUE OF LEONARDO DA VINCI, WITH 
FOUR OF HIS GREATEST PUPILS, FRONT- 
ING LA SCALA THEATRE 



A FRUIT GROWER IN LOMBARDY. SURROUNDED BY 
THE PRODUCTS OF A WONDERFULLY PRODUCTIVE 
BUT ARTIFICIAL AGRICULTURAL LAND 




LION OF ST. MARK, DOGE'S PALACE 



Chapter 1 wenty-One 

The Winged Lion 

THANK heaven, we came to Venice across this 
hand-made country of Northern Italy in 
the open, and not under ground like moles !" 
said Doris, remembering the smoky tunnels 
of the Riviera and of Liguria, as she stepped into a gon- 
dola at the railway terminus on the Grand Canal. Her 
mother smiled from her seat in the boat: she well knew 
that the line from Bologna to Florence is quite as sub- 
terranean as any Doris had encountered. 

Small steamboats now ply the entire length of the 
Grand Canal, some going as far as the Lido, or bathing 
beach, outside the Lagoons ; but this watery thorough- 
fare is so tortuous that it doubles on itself twice in the 
four miles between the railway station and the Piazza 
San Marco. A passenger by gondola reaches his desti- 
nation much quicker because the boatman knows the 
"short cuts," and takes advantage of them. With the 
instinct of an oarsman, Miss Wentworth watched the 

303 



3<H 



The Destiny of Doris 



man at the back of their gondola, marveled at the ef- 
fectiveness of the short, awkward stroke, and was espec- 
ially impressed with the control the gondolier had over 
his craft. She discovered later that the Venitian boat 
is like a flattened crescent, and that its contact with the 
water is comparatively slight. 

"When about to turn a corner, I notice that the gon- 
dolier utters a low but sharp call, and the right of way is 
yielded to him who shouts first," said Doris. 

"They are 'all in the same business,' like the donkey- 
drivers at Cairo," explained her mother. "You remem- 
ber how they'd fight with each other for a customer ; but 
when you had decided on your mule, the other boys 
would assist in tightening the girth or lowering the stir- 
rups for their successful rival." 

Mrs. Wentworth and her daughter were soon installed 
in a hotel on the Grand Canal, facing the picturesque 
Gothic pile known as the Church of Santa Maria delle 
Salute. 

"Never stay too long at a time in Venice," remarked 
Mrs. Wentworth. "It is much wiser to leave before the 
glamour of the life wears off. The moment Venice 
ceases to be a dream its charm is gone forever. You 
then smell odors from the canals, and miss the horses and 
carriages." 

Venice has a Public Garden at the extreme eastern end 
of the city that is almost as pretty as the one at Milan. 
The great place of rendezvous is the Piazza San Marco. 
Everybody goes there after sundown, and an excellent 
band plays every night in some part of the square. Dur- 



THE BEAUTIFUL CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DELLE 
SALUTE, AT THE HEAD OF THE GRAND CANAL, 
NEAR THE CUSTOM HOUSE 



306 



The Destiny of Doris 



ing the moonlight season it is the gayest promenade in 
Europe, and is thronged until midnight. 

"If I were asked what picture of any in the world 
I most admired, my choice would be Titian's Assump- 
tion, that is here in Venice," said Mrs. Wentworth, after 
an afternoon at the Accademia di Belle Arti. "I say 
this after seeing every gallery in Europe, and inspecting 
every picture of importance therein. The magnificence 
of its coloring excels them all. In its composition, per- 
spective science is applied equally to lines, figures, and 
atmosphere. Radiance and gloom are distributed by the 
highest intuitive art. The joyful innocence of the heav- 
enly company is beyond realization by our finite minds. 
It is a glorious, a divine, picture !" 

"The Academy is very rich in Titian and Tintoretto," 
I added. "Paolo Veronese is also seen at his best in the 
remarkable picture, — 'Jesus at the House of Simon the 
Levite.' Its composition is audacious. He seized upon 
the Biblical incident to portray a group of his contempora- 
ries 'in the unfettered enjoyment of existence.' The din- 
ner is served al fresco at the top of a grand stairway. 
All his fellow-painters are at the feast, seated at both 
sides of the board, by which the artist avoids the table 
d'hote character of Leonardo's 'Last Supper.' The ar- 
chitecture is Roman, and hardly what would be expected 
in the dwelling of an assistant to the Jewish priesthood. 
However, that is a slight matter. Cagliari there paint- 
ed his own portrait. In a group, at the right, is a face 
like Napoleon's; the figure is under-size, and the right 
hand is thrust into the front of the coat in a manner 




TITIAN'S "ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN," DE- 
CLARED TO BE THE MOST WONDERFUL STUDY 
IN COLOR IN THE WORLD 



3o8 



The Destiny of Doris 



affected by the Xittle Corporal.' The fact that the pic- 
ture was painted in 1573 renders this likeness curious." 

The Ghetto is filled with bad odors, but it deserves a 
forenoon. When the Venetian noblemen became ex- 
travagant, they borrowed money of the wealthy Jews 
until they reached a point where they couldn't pay. Then 
they repudiated their debts and treated their benefactors 
with harshness. The Jews were forced to live by them- 
selves in one section of the city, and keepers were set over 
them. Here their descendants are to-day. Restrictive 
laws have been abolished, but they cling to their old 
haunts as barnacles cherish their native rocks. 

"Now that we are going to the Ghetto," said Doris, 
who had been reading Mr. Howells, "I want to see 
Sior Antonio Rioba, the practical joke of Venice; rus- 
tics are sent with packages to him like American printer- 
boys for type-grinders?' 

Sior Antonio was discovered after a deal of inquiry 
and some guiding. He is a rough-hewn statue, set in the 
corner of a grocer's shop near the Ghetto. He had a 
pack on his back, and was dishonored by having mud 
thrown in his face while we stood in his presence. It is 
fortunate that he is inanimate ; for he leads a harsh life. 

On the way back to the Piazza San Marco afoot, Doris 
gave a beggar some money. 

"Why did you do that, Doris ?" demanded her mother. 

"Because, the poor fellow had only one arm. How 
can he make his wants known? No one-armed Italian 
can speak this language ; he needs both hands." 

We never grew tired of Saint Mark's, owing to the 
Oriental magnificence of its decorations. It is a jewel 



HOUSE OF DESDEMONA, ON THE GRAND CANAL, RECENT- 
LY OCCUPIED BY SIGNORA DUSE : STRAWBERRY-CREAM IN 
COLOR : A FINE BIT OF VENETIAN ARCHITECTURE 



The Destiny of Doris 



of a church. Mr. Ruskin has gone into the subject so 
thoroughly that little more can be said. The charm of 
the interior consists in the noble perspectives and the 
splendor of the decorations. The four bronze horses 
that probably adorned the triumphal arch of Nero at 
Rome but are now over the entrance to the church, need 
repairing. Two of them appear to have been in the 
bull-ring and to have been severely gored. Those horses 
have been great travelers. Constantine sent them to 
Constantinople, and Napoleon took them to Paris. 

A climb to the top of the isolated bell-tower, by a 
winding inclined plain of 38 bends, w T as easy. 

"How small and compact this city is !" exclaimed 
Doris, when we stood in the lofty gallery. 

"But notice how the red-tiled roofs are relieved by the 
verdure of small gardens everywhere," I pointed out. 
"One wouldn't think so many green places possible." 

"Those must be the Alps to the northward. And I ac- 
tually believe I can see land on the other side of the Adri- 
atic," said Doris. 

"Yes, those are the Istrian Mountains that rise out 
the sea," I explained. "That's a very different country 
from Italy over there." 

"The sight of those mountains impresses me as did 
the wild, rocky coast of Crete, where dwells a strange 
people, indifferent to the rest of the world," said Doris. 

The ladies were voluble in their comments upon the 
Palace of the Doges. Its curiosities are : a map that 
Columbus carried on his first voyage (or one just as 
good), the collection of Cameos, and the dungeons un- 
der the palace. 



FACADE OF ST. MARC'S AND DOGE'S PALACE: WINGED 
LION ATOP THE COLUMN AT THE LANDING: BRONZE 
HORSES OVER CHURCH DOORWAY 



312 



The Destiny of Doris 



"Here is a chance for a discussion of the question of 
environment," said Mrs. Wentworth, as we entered the 
cell in which Lord Byron had passed a night while com- 
posing his Venetian tragedy under the belief that Mari- 
ano Faliero had been immured there before his beheading. 
But modern investigation has utterly disproved the pres- 
ence in this prison of any distinguished malefactors : it 
was for thieves and murderers. Now, the question is, Did 
the poet have true emotions when he was at the wrong 
place ? 

The cell is as Byron left it. He had a platform of 
heavy boards upon which to rest, but he was without any 
light, and he made what notes he wanted in the dark. 
He must have passed a gloomy night. 



THE CITY OF " ROMOLA " J TOWER OF THE PALAZZO VECCHIO, IN THE CENTER 

Chapter Twenty-two 

Older than Rome 

THE first thing to do when you reach Florence, 
if it be yet day, is to take a tram-car to 
the heights of San Miniato and study "the 
glorious capital of Tuscany," spread at your 
feet. It differs from the view of Genoa that we enjoyed 
so much, and the never-to-be-forgotten Monaco, with its 
blue sea, and its wealth of roses, and wilderness of rocks. 

Florence is in a deeper basin than Paris, and the river 
that divides it runs a straighter course. The surround- 
ing mountain-sides are given color by the countless houses 
of yellow and pink that peep from the verdure every- 
where. We haven't seen anything just like that view. 
Beyond the first range of hills at Rome, lies a wilderness ; 
the charming plain of Granada is a tract of farming-land ; 
Naples plunges down the mountain-side into the sea; 
outside the walls of Milan are vineyards and swampy 
rice-fields; the only view of Venice is from the campan- 
ile of St. Mark, at which vantage-point even the canals 
— the glory of the city — disappear. 

313 • V. ' ': 



3i4 



The Destiny of Doris 



At Florence, from any fine prospect, you enjoy a 
farandole of Nature. She is aglee, and little imagination 
is required to see nymphs dancing under the trees. From 
San Miniato you can single out the ancient terraces of 
Fiesole, the first Florence, which was old before Romulus 
ploughed the furrow in which his walls were to rise. 
When you look up that valley to the little town at its 
head, it is easy to remember that architects went from 
there to build Rome, and statesmen to frame her laws. 
Don't forget, also, this same Fiesole and Rome were bit- 
ter rivals 500 years before Christ ! Then come down to 
the thirteenth century, and as you single out what is left 
of the Via dei Bardi, the Ponte alle Grazie, the Piazza 
Santa Trinita, — where still stands the Buondelmonte 
Palace (whose owner began the two hundred years' war 
of the Guelphs and Ghibellines),— the Piazzas Santa Feli- 
cita and Dei Mozzi, and the Vias della Morte and dei 
Cerchi, imagine them peopled with the sturdy burghers, 
who knew how to hate as well as to make love ; who were 
rare artists in wood, bronze, and silver, but could handle 
a sword with the same ease as the sharp tools of their 
guilds. Peering down into these narrow streets, the 
fluttering bits of color you see are like those caused by 
the passage of mounted cavaliers en route to a tourna- 
ment. 

Caq^your eyes in the direction of the new center of 
tow y n, the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, and you behold 
acres of the old palaces coming down to make room for 
the Florence of the twentieth century. This is the good 
work that Ouida so unjustly condemns in "A Winter 
City." The beautiful arch and facade facing this square 



FLORENCE FROM THE HEIGHTS OF SAN MINIATO, SHOWING ALL " 
THE FAMILIAR OBJECTS, INCLUDING THE OLD COVERED BRIDGE 
CONNECTING THE UFIZZI AND PITTI PALACES 



3i6 



The Destiny of Doris 



was dedicated in 1895, but the broad streets that enter 
the piazza are an earnest of what will follow. The 
square nearby with the Ufizzi and Yecchio Palaces at one 
corner, and that shiver-provoking red-copper tablet to 
mark the place where Savanarola was burned, and the 
recently scrubbed Duomo in another open space not far 
away, have not yet felt the throb of new life. But it is 
more difficult to transport the mind into the past in Flor- 
ence than at Rome, because so much that is new confronts 
you everywhere. The objects that most stimulate mem- 
ory are gathered in galleries and shown at a price. The 
expense that history has entailed upon the Florentine 
shopkeepers must be enormous, and nobody can blame 
them for asking a living from the visitors that come here 
to write diaries that are as gorged with emotions as 
school girls' pen-wipers. 

Every traveler in Italy should find stamped on his 
ticket, in language that he could read, "If you cannot 
stop a week in Florence, don't get off the train." Such 
was the opinion of the Wentworths. 

"We made a sturdy effort to master the twin-galler- 
ies of the Pitti and Ufizzi Palaces," said Mrs. Went worth. 
"Doris and I gave a week's hard work to them and the 
monastery of San Marco, where dear Fra Angelico 
spread his heart upon the walls of his own cell and those 
of his Dominican brothers. I wondered why the good 
friar, with artistic tastes, had always placed his divine 
frescoes in the darkest corner of each cell ; but I com- 
prehended when a guide brought a reflector, by means 
of which the light could be thrown from the window 
upon the picture. Of course, this cost a lira, but what 




TWO ROMAN BOYS SINGING IN THE STREETS OF 
FLORENCE: THEIR CLASSIC FACES MARK THEM 
AS STRANGERS IN TUSCANY 



3i8 



The Destiny of Doris 



is base money compared to the pleasure those pictures 
gave me. They were to me as comforting as prayer 
itself." 

"If I remember San Marco's cloister." I ventured to 
say. '"it was a rather cheerful place. I think I could 
have made myself quite comfortable there. The garden 
upon which the windows of the cells look is pretty and 
has a line cedar in its center ; indeed, the flowers out- 
side and the pictures within quite suffice to please the 
eye and occupy the mind. The retreat of the Cardinal 
di Medici did not possess, to me. the atmosphere of 
sanctity that I found in the cell of poor Savonarola.'' 

'"His death at the stake was one of the great crimes 
of history, like the burning of the little Maid of Or- 
leans." added Mrs. YVentworth. with a sigh that had 
clung to her throat ever since a day in Rouen, when she 
had visited the scene of that shepherdess' death. 

"At the Florentine hotels. I notice the head-waiter 
gravely tastes the wine in our presence before he offers 
it to us." said Doris. 

"A remarkable instance of the survival of a custom 
that once possessed much significance." answered Mrs. 
YVentworth. "In the days of the Cerchi-and-Donati- 
feud. and throughout the long war of the Guelphs and 
Ghibellines that followed, the household butler always 
took the first drink out of every flagon of wine served, 
and then passed it to his master. There was a lot of 
very dangerous grape-juice in the market at that time: 
poisoning the wine was a favorite method of getting rid 
of enemies. A remark by the head of the House of 
Cerchi to his brother-in-law. Corso Donati. was the cause 



WONDERFUL BYZANTINE CHURCH AT PADUA; 
QUAINTLY GRACEFUL, BUT LACKING THE EM- 
BELLISHMENTS OF ST. MARC'S VENICE 



320 



The Destiny of Doris 



of their feud. Donati was suspected of having poisoned 
his wife, a sister of Vieri Cerchi. One day, the latter was 
supping with the former, and the butler, according to 
custom, tasted the wine before serving it. 'You didn't 
take that precaution when you gave my sister her wine,' 
muttered Vieri to Corso; and, from that moment, mortal 
hatred began. Corso was like people I know ; he could- 
n't take a joke." 

"That may explain why the waiters taste the wine be- 
fore serving,'' replied Doris ; "but it doesn't account for 
the water that gets into our bottles when we leave an 
unfinished flagon. If they are sure our wine is all right, 
why do they drink so much of it between meals and sup- 
ply the deficiency with water?" 

Two incidents of the trip from Venice to Florence are 
not to be overlooked. One was a half day's stop at Padua, 
the other, the crossing of the mighty river Po. That 
stream occupies so small a place on the map that one ex- 
periences genuine surprise at its breadth and volume. At 
Padua is the Byzantine Church of Santa Giustina ; its por- 
tal of black, red and white marbles, its square pilasters, its 
projecting entablatures, its Roman capitals and, over all, 
its bulging Arabic domes, give it quaintness and pom- 
posity. It is impossible to gaze at that edifice without 
smiling. It is an architectural monstrosity, but not an 
offence to the eye. The interior is aglow with color. 
Veronese left a host of baby angels hovering round the 
patron saint of the church. Imitators of Bernini did the 
other decorations and did them badly. We saw the nar- 
row cell in which the Saint passed five years, and from 
which she passed to heaven by a blessed martyrdom. 



FAMOUS STAIRWAY OF THE PODESTA. EVERY STEP HAS 
RUN WITH BLOOD ; ITS TRIUMPHAL ARCH IS ONE OF THE 
BEAUTIES AND ECCENTRICITIES OF ITALIAN ART 



322 



The Destiny of Doris 



The coffin of St. Luke is there, and it looked as genuine 
as had those of Ferdinand and Isabella at Granada. 

The horror of horrors of all Italy exists at Padua, 
known as the torture-rooms of the demoniacal monster 
Ecelino, a thirteenth century ruler of Verona, Vicenza, 
Padua and Brescia. His cruelties finally became unen- 
durable, and the Church proclaimed a crusade against 
him. The peasants rose and a farmer killed him with a 
scythe. In a dreary dungeon we saw an upright 
box in which was the skeleton of a victim. Two 
apertures enabled the condemned to see a table, just out 
of reach, filled with food and drink — to-day it is stage food 
and the wine is colored water, but the realism is intense. 
The climax of shudders was reached when we came to a 
block in the centre of a square apartment. Nailed to the 
wood and severed midway between the wrist and elbow, 
lay the dainty hand of a woman, just as it had been 
chopped from the living arm! The cell resounded with 
the shrieks of the terrified woman, and though the hand 
we saw was of wax, the feelings it produced were the 
most dreadful of the day. Where were the Portias of 
Ecelino's day? They were needed in Padua. 

A social organization exists in Florence composed of 
remote descendants of the noblemen created by Charle- 
magne. Its members assemble once a year in the Court 
of the Palazzo Pretorio, attired in the costumes of their 
ancestors, and, ascending the historic stairway to the 
Hall of the Podesta, they renew their oaths of personal 
loyalty. Our picture shows such a group, gathered un- 
der the triumphal arch, half-way up the staircase. 

"The building now occupied by the National Museum 



Older than Rome 



3 2 3' 



is one of the most interesting in Florentine history," 
said Mrs. Wentworth. "It was the seat of the Podesta, 
an official who embellishes all Florentine tales of the 
time of the Repub- 
lic. He was mayor 
and court of last re- 
sort, always ap- 
pointed from a dis- 
tant part of the 
country, so that he 
would not have any 
alliances to warp 
his judgment. He 
lived in the Bar- 
gello, or State 
prison, probably 
for his own safety. 
When he presided, 
a page in blue, 
holding a drawn 
sword, stood be- 
hind his chair. The 
stairway leading to 
the court-room was 

often the scene of bloody contests between citizens 
dissatisfied with the decisions." 

And don't forget that Florence is the city of David, 
■ — Michael Angelo's inspired creation. 




Monks of San Miniato at the Well 



PICTURESQUE ISLET IN LAKE MAGGIORE 



Chapter Twenty-three 

A Quatrain of Destiny 

WE enjoyed every moment of our fifteenth- 
century existence at the Tuscany capital. 
When the morning arrived on which we 
were to have returned to Genoa, Mrs. 
Wentworth informed me significantly of a change in her 
plans ; she and Doris had decided to return to Milan, 
instead of Genoa ! I was perplexed, and was about to 
say that I would proceed to Genoa and complete the ar- 
rangements for our departure to New York, when I was 
invited to form one of the party to Milan. My face 
evinced hesitation and surprise. Seeing this, Mrs. 
Wentworth said, 

"I want you to be present at the marriage of my 
daughter to Mr. Blake, to-morrow. It is sooner than 
I would have wished, but Vernon is impatient. He can 
extend his vacation now, but would not be able to ab- 
sent himself later in the year." 

324 



A Quatrain of Destiny 



325 



"I am delighted!" I exclaimed. "Why should they 
wait? Of course I'll go." 

Mrs. Wentworth then told me that a hurry-order had 
been given for the trousseau on the first visit to Milan. 
The young people were to start immediately after the 
ceremony to Bellagio, on Lake Como, where Mr. Blake 
had leased a pretty villa. 

Although overjoyed, because the event brought me 
nearer to my happiness, I was unprepared for so sudden 
a termination of this love match. 

" 'Happy is the wooing that's not long doing,' " said 
I, quoting an adage of the North Country. 

"Marriage is her destiny," answered the mother, with 
a sigh. "I must have lost her, ultimately." 

After leaving Bologna, the trip in the train de luxe 
between Florence and the Lombardy capital was delight- 
ful. Under one pretext or another, I left the two ladies 
together as much as possible, seeking the smoking-com- 
partment as often as I could summon sufficient courage 
to consume an Italian cigar. 

Miss Wentworth was preoccupied, and had lost much 
of her characteristic vivacity. She was in a more 
thoughtful mood than I had yet observed. Neither the 
latest novels nor the scenery of the garden-part of Italy 
interested her. 

The Alhambra-bell had fulfilled its mission. It had 
brought the maid a man ! 

Our wanderings had not contained a dull moment, and 
the approaching termination filled me with an overpow- 
ering sense of regret. Dr. Johnson called attention to 
this phase of the human mind in the last of his "Idler" 



326 



The Destiny of Doris 



papers. Exactly as he laid down his pen with reluctance, 
did I contemplate the end of this delightful companion- 
ship. Recalling our wanderings in Spain, in Africa, in 
Syria, and in Italy, Mrs. Wentworth and I agreed that 
no place of supreme importance had been overlooked. 

"What a common thing for people who have never 
traveled to dismiss so interesting a trip as ours with the 
impudent comment that we 'have hurried over the ground 
too rapidly,' '" said Mrs. Wentworth, thoughtfully, as we 
sat together in a corner of the compartment. "The ca- 
pacity to enjoy what we see when traveling depends so 
largely on mental preparation for the journey that one 
person is not competent to judge whether or not an- 
other has made the most of his or her opportunities — has 
seen much or little. For example, the stranger who goes 
to Rome unacquainted with the tragedies and comedies 
of its history, with its art, literature, and religion, has 
much to learn before he can begin properly to esteem 
what he sees. He is unprepared for the journey." 

"Yours is a complete answer to that class of critics 
who dawdle away their time in a city like Paris, or who 
go abroad to study what they should have learned during 
their school-days. Some travelers don't know the dif- 
ference between the four voyages of Columbus and the 
seven voyages of Sinbad the Sailor! The person who 
insists that Rome cannot be comprehensively studied in 
a month, would probably need a year's kindergarten in- 
struction in the history of the city, the Republic, and the 
Empire." 

"My Biblical knowledge was of the greatest use to me 
during our stay in Palestine," added Mrs. Wentworth. 



SCENE IN THE "HAND-MADE" LANDS OF NORTHERN 
ITALY, NEAR VERONA ; BRICK COLUMNS, TO SUPPORT 
A TRELLIS, ARE COVERED WITH STUCCO 



328 The Destiny of Doris 

"I instinctively sought places mentioned in the Book. 
Indeed, I almost felt that I'd been to Jerusalem before." 

"Preparation for a trip like ours should precede, not 
accompany, it," was my comment. 

"Exactly what I mean. A visit to Egypt should be 
anticipated by six months' reading of Rawlinson, Erman, 
Lane, Ebers, Wiedemann, Wilkinson, Muir, Maspero, 
Curtis, Edwards, Stuart, Wilson, Kingsley, and Milner, 
not to omit 'The Thousand Nights and One Night.' 
It is difficult to believe before leaving home how 
much intelligent enjoyment can be compressed into a 
four months' trip like ours. We have traveled when we 
pleased ; have seen exactly what we wanted to see. We 
haven't wasted our time, but have combined pleasure 
with mental development. Another feature that has ap- 
pealed to me, is the moderate expense at which all this 
enjoyment has been secured." 

"Very true," I replied. "A rough estimate of my 
expenses is within a thousand dollars. Omitting my 
trip into Nubia, eight hundred dollars would have been 
ample. Tell me where, in the whole range of human ex- 
perience, so much intelligent pleasure can be found for 
so little money? Of course, I include in this my pro- 
spective ten days' delightful sea-voyage from Genoa or 
Naples to New York. Seeking a phrase that might best 
describe our holiday, Fd say, 'The Trip of a Thousand, 
for a Thousand !' " 

"That's a practical and an inviting view," said Mrs. 
Wentworth. "I couldn't have kept my house going with 
the amount that Doris and I have spent since we left 
home." 



TYPE OF THE SOUDANESE WOMAN SEEN AT WADI- 
HALFA : THE FACE WAS SLASHED IN CHILDHOOD, BY 
THE MOTHER, TO WARD OFF THE EVIL EYE 



33Q The Destiny of Doris 



''You haven't been a recluse, by any means," I re- 
joined, ''but have lived in the sunshine of history, and 
reviewed the majesty of mankind. What a charming 
fad that is of Doris' to secure a small silk flag in each 
country she visits !" 

"The ensign of a nation is the prettiest trophy you can 
bring home from it," replied Mrs. Wentwofth. "I have 
interested a shop-keeper on the eastern side of the Gal- 
leria Vittorio Emanuele at Milan in the hobby, and he 
will hereafter keep in stock the colors of all European 
nations." 

"Let me think? How many flags will Doris have 
when she gets home?"' 

"Eleven," was the reply. "Leaving New York under 
the black, white, and red flag of Germany, she passed 
under the white emblem of the Azores ; then the Union 
Jack at Gibraltar, the red and yellow standard of Spain 
at Granada, the blood-red symbol of Morocco at Tangier, 
the beautiful green, white, and red emblem of Lmited 
Italy at Xaples, Egypt's magenta standard, with its 
three crescents, at Cairo, the red burgee crescent and 
star of Turkey at Jerusalem, the "tricolor'' of France at 
Mentone, the device of the Prince of Monaco at Monte 
Carlo, and now the cross of Switzerland." 

"Have you noticed passports were not needed where 
we have traveled?" I asked. 

"The nations of the earth are no longer suspicious of 
one another." 

When we stepped oft the train at Milan, Blake 
was there to meet us. We formed a very jolly party at 
the Cavour that afternoon and evening. 



BELLAGIO, LAKE COMO, WHERE VERNON AND DORIS 
PASSED THEIR HONEYMOON : A VISION LIKE THOSE 
SEEN IN DREAMS: UNLIKE ANY VILLAGE ON EARTH 



332 



The Destiny of Doris 



Next day, at ten o'clock, we were driven to the Eng- 
lish Church of All Saints, on the Ma Solferino, where 
the simple but impressive service of the Church of Eng- 
land was performed. 

A dainty wedding-breakfast followed, after which we 
drove with Mr. and Mrs. Blake to the train that was to 
take them to Como, where a steam yacht that Blake 
had hired, would carry them to Bellagio. 

Mrs. Wentworth and I drove back to her hotel. A 
feeling of embarrassment, unknown till that moment, 
overcame us. YVe realized that the situation had been 
changed by the departure of Doris, and that we could no 
longer be fellow-travelers. Mrs. Wentworth, with ad- 
mirable tact, announced that she would leave for Genoa 
in the afternoon. 

The drive to the railway station was far too brief ; but 
before it was finished I had determined to persuade 
Louise to marry me then and there. I believe she read 
my mind, because she was almost precipitate in taking 
her ticket and hurrying her luggage into the train. Af- 
ter seeing her comfortably placed, I wired the interpreter 
of her hotel to meet her. 

The night that followed was one of the most memor- 
able in my existence. Most of it was spent afoot, ramb- 
ling aimlessly about the old city, in solitary communion 
with my thoughts. Like a restless wraith, I hovered 
about the crowded Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the 
deserted piazza fronting the Cathedral. Before seeking 
my hotel, I resolved to take the earliest morning train to 
Genoa. 

Noon had struck when I reached the Ligurian capital. 




A GROUP OF FISHER-PEOPLE AT BOR- 
DIGHERA: THIS RESORT IS THE SCENE 
OF "DR. ANTONIO" 



334 



The Destiny of Doris 



My impatience made the journey tedious. Seeking a 
small hotel facing the station, I hurried a commission- 
aire with a note to Mrs. Wentworth, inviting her to lunch- 
eon at the Righi. 

Choosing a carriage at the Columbus statue, I drove 
to her hotel and thence to the Piazza Zecca, where a 
funicolari bore us to the Heights of Castellaccio, 1,250 
feet above the sea. 

On the broad veranda and across the luncheon table, 
we decided our destiny. 

"I do not have to tell you, dear, the wish nearest my 
heart," I began. "You can read in my eyes the love I 
feel for you. We have known each other since childhood 
and although I passed out of your life for a while, the 
last four months have brought us nearer together than 
ever before. Have I not regained my place in your 
heart ? Why shouldn't we be married at once ?" 

"Don't you think it would be in better taste to return 
to America, where, if you still feel inclined, we might 
consider our marriage ?" 

"No," I replied, with emphasis. "We have temporized 
long enough. I didn't find fault with your maternal 
solicitude for your daughter's future ; that was natural 
and proper ; but she is now a happy wife, and no excuse 
exists for delaying our union." 

"Frankly, I have no wish to delay it," she replied, her 
eyes beaming with affection. 

"Glorious ! We shall be married this afternoon at 
the American Consulate," I insisted. "We can pass our 
"honeymoon, on the. Riviera," or .-at sea, whichever you pre- 
fer. I will secure a cottage at Bar Harbor by cable, to 



LAKE FRONT, BELLAGIO, WITH THE ITAL- 
IAN HILLS IN THE BACKGROUND: LOOKING 
SOUTHWARD TOWARD COMO 



336 



The Destiny of Doris 



day, where Vernon and Doris can join us at the end of 
their stay at Bellagio." 

"I favor the homeward flight," said she. 

"So do L 'Yerga!' We shall return !" 

"The beauties of the Mediterranean and the southern 
route across the Atlantic through the Azores appeal to 
me," she temporized. 

"Rather let us go to our American home, at once," 
I persisted. "We can take the Lloyd Express to-morrow 
noon, by way of the St. Gothard ; I'll call Vernon and 
Doris on the telephone and ask them to meet us at Como 
station to say au revoir. We shall be in Paris Saturday 
night, and shall catch the Kronprinz Wilhelm at Cher- 
bourg the next day." 

"But what will our children think?" she laughingly 
rejoined. 

"Oh, hang the children! Happiness wasn't made for 
them alone. Take pity on me !" 

"You poor neglected fellow, I'll have to humor you." 
And so we were married 



CHOICE BOOKS 

& Selected from our Catalogue J> 



DELIVERED FREE.— Any of the books 
will be sent post or expressage paid by the 
publishers, on receipt of price. 

HOW TO SEND MONEY —Remittances 
should be made by registered letter, stamps, 
post office order, express money order, or by 
draft on any New York Bank. 

OBSERVE THIS WHEN ORDERING — 

Always give the full title of book desired, 
the author's name, and the price, and give 
your address clearly written and in full. 
BOOKS SENT ON APPROVAL.— To 

those wishing to examine any book before 
purchasing, we will send it, on receipt of 
price, subject to approval, granting one day's 
time for the examination. When this priv- 
ilege is desired it must be so stated in the 
order. Should the book be returned in good 
condition, within the time specified, the re- 
mittance will be refunded, less postage 
charges. 

FULLER DESCRIPTION OF BOOKS — 

Our general catalogue and descriptive matter 
regarding any particular book that we pub- 
lish will be forwarded upon application. 



CONTINENTAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

24 and 26 Murray Street, & New York 



STANDARD WORKS OF GREAT INTEREST 

THE PHILLIPPINE ISLANDS. Ramon Reyes Lata, a native 
^ of Manila. 200 fine illustrations and decorative pieces, 
" 344 pages, large 8vo, ornamented cloth .$2.50 

"The best book on the subject of our new possessions in Asia. 
It answers every question the ordinary reader would ask; is fasci- 
nating as a romance, accurate as an up-to-date encyclopedia." 

VONDEL'S LUCIFER. Leonard Charles van Noppen, translator. 
j| Handsomely bound. Illustrated by the Dutch artist, 
w John Aarts. Double cover, cloth, art edition, limited . . $5.00 

The only complete metrical translation into English of this mas- 
terpiece of the sublime Vondel, the greatest of the poets of Hol- 
land — from which Milton derived much of the material for "Para- 
dise Lost." 

A SOCIETY WOMAN ON TWO CONTINENTS. Countess 
^ Spottiswood Mackin. 25 full-page illustrations and 4 1 
* reproductions in fac simile. 3d edition, 8vo, gold, top 

cloth, 359 pages $1.50 

"Her pages fairly dazzle one. . . . She makes the manners 
and customs of Europeans far more intelligible to us than half a 
dozen books of travel. Full of anecdotes and incidents of the 
most entertaining nature." 

THE SEA BEGGARS. Liberators of Holland from the Yoke of 
jk Spai.i. Dingman Versteeg, 8vo, ornamental cloth, 339 
W pages . $1.50 

One of the most brilliant and dramatic periods of Dutch his- 
tory, from 1568 to 1576, introducing the wars of that time. The 
final act in the glorious campaign of the "Sea Beggars," that 
sturdy band of patriotic exiles, laid the foundations of Dutch lib- 
erty. Mr. Versteeg has given the result of long, careful study of 
an epoch in history that has _ never before received the justice it 
deserves. He tells a fascinating story of stirring events in a most 
interesting way. 

GOSPEL OF THE STARS. James Hingston, "Gabriel/' 
~ Introduction by Rev. George H. Hepworth, D. D. 8vo, 
79 ornamented cloth, J 94 pages . . $t .00 

A complete guide to divination by the study of the stars. This 
volume is a defence of astrology, a history, and a practical text- 
book all in one. It is written by a recognized authority on the 
subject. 

THE END OF THE AGES. With Forecasts of the Approaching 
Political, Social and Religious Reconstruction of America 
2) and the World. By William Fishbough. Frontispiece 

portr.it of Author. Cloth, 8vo, 392pagrs $1.50 

The author's discovery is that the progress of events in history 
are in obedience to a clearly defined law, and that in any nation 
these "cycles" can be traced, and that then the past will be better 
comprehended, the present be fully understood, and the future be 
predicted. 

THE KINGSHIP OF SELF-CONTROL. By William George 
Jordan. Originally published as lesding editorials in 
H " The Saturday Evening Post," of Philadelphia, when 

the author was its edito-. Or-iame^ted boards 30 

Eight inspiring essays — bright, sympathetic, witty and novel in 
treatment. It can be read in an hour, but will supply thought for 
a lifetime. Just the book to have at your side when the worry 
and trials of life weary you. 

FREE BANKING; A NATURAL RIGHT. James A. B. 

£ Dilworth. J 2mo, cloth, 212 pages $t.00 

This book proposes monetary methods founded on the Golden 
Rule — just to all and unjust to none. A practical remedy by a 
prominent business man. 



NOVELS WELL WORTH READING 

A ROYAL ENCHANTRESS. The Romance of the Last Queen 
of the Berbfts. Judge Leo Charles Dessar, with twelve 
£ fine full-page illustrations, by B. Martin Justice. Orna- 
mented cloth, 8vo, 3 1 pages $ J .50 

A new field in fiction. The story of the wonderful civilization 
of Northern Africa at the close of the seventh century. The hero- 
ine was beautiful as Cleopatra, wise as Aspasia, brave as Boadicea, 
and she performed wonders that gave her the name of The Sor- 
coress Queen. 

MR. DE LACY'S DOUBLE. Francis Eugene Storfce. Oma- 

d merited cloth, 8 vo, gold top, 306 pages $ J .25 

A story along unusual lines. It is a happy blending of romance 
and mystery, with many metaphysic and ethical problems. The 
scenes are laid chiefly in New York and in the Mississippi Valley, 
much of the action, in fact, happening on board a Mississippi river 
steamboat. 

DRUMSTICKS. Katherine Mary Cheever Meredith (Johanna 
a Staats). " The Story of a Sinner and a Child/* I2mo, 
w gold top, 192 pages, cloth $1.00 

"The conception of the tale is melodramatic, with a good deal of 
what is called 'passion' in it, in a literary way." Strong, and in- 
tensely interesting. The story has many striking situations. 

MEMOIRS OF A LITTLE GIRL. Winnifred Johncs. Inter- 
ests young and old alike. I6"mo, silver top, ornamented 
w cloth, 255 pages 75 

"Delightfully bright and refreshing. The author does humor- 
ously and sympathetically for girl-life what Mark Twain did for 
boy-life in 'Tom Sawyer.' Never before was so much fun packed 
in so small a space." 

LYDDY: A TALE OF THE OLD SOUTH. Eugenia Jones 

£ Bacon. 8vo, gold top, ornamented cloth, 287 pages $ J .25 

In this book negro characters figure as hero and heroine in ro- 
mance. The author's character-drawing of life on a Georgian 
plantation is wonderfully true, with just enough Southern dialect 
to give it realistic flavor. 

THE RAINBOW OF GOLD. Joseph A. Altsheler, author of 
jl " The Soldiers of Manhattan," etc., etc. 8vo, orna- 
79 mented cloth, 228 pages $1.00 

A vivid and thrilling description of adventures encountered on 
the Great Plains of America by a party of gold hunters in the days 
of '49. The story abounds in dramatic situations, daring deeds 
and miraculous escapes. 

THE HIDDEN MINE. Joseph A. Altsheler, author of "The 
^ Rainbow of Gold/* etc. 8vo, ornamented cloth, 273 

pages $1.00 

In this book is told how the adventurers of "The Rainbow of 
Gold"_ found their treasure, and their struggles with freebooters to 
keep it. It is a fascinating story of experiences on the frontier 
some fifty years ago. 

BOSS : THE HONOR OF A SOUTHERN WOMAN. Odette 

£ Tyler, i 2mo, gold top, cloth, 2 1 5 pages $ J .00 

"Every page is redolent with the picturesque South, and every 
incident and character is portrayed with a skill and vigor too often 
missing in more pretentious works of fiction." It is the thrilling 
story of a woman who told the truth, — of an alibi that saved one 
life and cost two lives. 



THE DOOMSWOMAN: AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF 
A OLD CALIFORNIA. Gertrude Atherton. With por- 
w trait of the author. Gold stamped red cloth, 8vo, 264 pages.$ \ .25 

" 'The Doomswoman' is an immensely clever book, and there 
are pages in it that deserve to live as being some of the ablest con- 
tributions to the literature of the human emotions which the Eng- 
lish language contains." 

FOR THE HONOR OF A CHILD. Beulah Downey Hanks. 

ft \ 6mo, silver top, ornamented cloth, 2 J 9 pages 75 

"A story of dramatic fervor and of great emotional power. 
Rich in word-painting, clear characterizations, and complex situa- 
tions. It has also a masterly development and a 'go' that is irre- 
sistible. The story is admirable." 

DEAREST. Mrs. Forrester, author of ** Diana Carew," ** Of the 

t> World Worldly/' etc. I2mo,cloth, 376 pages $ 1 .25 

A charming tale of English life and romance, one somewhat 
after the style of "Jane Eyre." It is a love-story, pure and 
simple. 

" 'How to Succeed Without Beauty,' would be a good title for 
this book." 

MISSING: A TALE OF THE SARGASSO SEA. Julius 

£ Chambers. 8vo, cloth, J 82 pages 75 

"What Rider Haggard has done for Zululand and Anthony 
Hope for the mythical kingdom of Zenda, Julius Chambers does 
for that vast unexplored region in the Mid-Atlantic known as the 
Sargasso Sea." 

ENTERTAINING SHORT STORIES 

LO-TO-KAH. A Collection of Indian Stories. Verner Z. Reed. 
j± Beautifully illustrated by L. Maynard Dixon and Charles 
" Craig. 12mo, gold top, ornamented cloth, 230 pages $t.00 

"A book of real life among real Indians, in the reading of which 
one can become" so interested as to be utterly oblivious to all sur- 
roundings." 

TALES OF THE SUN-LAND. Verner Z. Reed. 20 full 
j± page illustrations bv L. Maynard Dixon. 8vo, gold top, 
** ornamented cloth, 250 pages . $ t .25 

Eight romantic, imaginative tales of the Indians of the South- 
west. Filled with wild adventures, accounts of love-making, wars, 
and superstitions. 

HER LITTLE SISTER POLLY. Ella Florence Padon. Iilus- 
A trations by C. D. Williams. Ornamented cloth, 8vo, 75 
9 pages ..50 

The humorous story of the life and adventures of a rich little 
girl whose dearest possession was a mischievous parrot. In her 
visits to each of her four aunts the parrot played an important 
part in the daily events, much to the annoyance of the relatives. 
"Her Sister Polly" is one of the most delightful child-stories writ- 
ten for years. 

SHE OF THE WEST. Twelve Short Stories. Bailey Millard. 

& 8vo, ornamented cloth, 264 p ^ges $ J .00 

Pretty bandits, successful girl reporters, Mormon girls, cow- 
girls, the woman's loneliness, her days upon the great plains, the 
awfulness of desert life, are but a few of the subjects and condi- 
tions treated. 

A DAUGHTER OF NEPTUNE. Five short stories. William 

H Winslow. J 6mo, silver top. ornamented cloth, 229 pages. .75 

Out-of-door stories, redolent of the atmosphere of the sea and 
the pines, where the human pulse beats free of Society's conven- 
tions. An unusually strong collection of stories, with the fresh- 
ness and crispness of Bret Harte. 



NOV 18 1901 



NOV 16 l»u. 



1 COPY DEL. TO CAT, DIV. 
NOV. 17 1901 



